I have a half dozen floor to ceiling bookshelves in my house, with my collections of "series" in them. Many of those bought new as they came out. Some of those, I picked up a book in the middle of a series at an Airport gift shop as they were calling the plane to board, or was given a mid-series book by a friend who said, "You have got to read this...." Then I went to the used book store and filled out the series as best I could, before buying the rest new...
I am THAT guy. I re-read a series more than once. I am in the last book of WEB Griffin's "Corps" series. I have read the dang thing a dozen times over the years. Historical Fiction. You "meet" real characters from history, mixed in with the main fictional characters in the series and you come to KNOW the fictional characters and "CARE" what happens to them. That's what happens with great writing. Next up is the Brotherhood of War series, same deal... you meet more historical figures... and the main characters take you thru the progress of time.
But... with books, real books with pages and margins and bindings, you find other history.
In used books, you might find passages underlined, notes in the margins, or items highlighted. In YOUR books you might find notes YOU wrote in the margins, interesting stains on the pages, or the bookmarks you left in a book years before that remind you of times long passed.
In an old Stephen King Novel, a bookmark I found was an IBM punch card we used to use to record Police and EMS calls when I was a dispatcher for my first Department WAY back when I first left the Corps. Every night between 2 and 4 am the computers went down to transfer data and while they were down, calls were recorded on the cards. When they came back up, IT came down and gathered the cards and scanned them, updating the database with bare minimum info on the calls during that slow period. THEN, dispatchers pulled up the calls and typed in the notes they had taken. The card I was using for a bookmark was a NOTES card for such a call that had been rewritten before it got turned in.
Another book had notes all thru the margins, where the author must have been knocking out the book to buy a new house or pay off his Porsche, as he had made one mistake after another with his own characters. I always note those in the margins for the fun of it. Funny thing, a used book I bought... the original purchaser had done the same thing in that one.
There is just something about sitting in the recliner with a cup of coffee or tea, and the weight of the book in your lap, the dog at your feet.... and getting lost in the book.
My wife says I don't read a book, I immerse myself in them. I escape in the books. I'll admit, if they are well written, I fall right in....
Anyone? Anyone?
I have been back in time, I have visited the future. I have flown in deep space, and explored the bottom of the ocean. And never left my chair.
