What Do Your Books Say About You?
I'm halfway through the book, spark joy by Marie Kondo. Kondo, if you haven't heard of her, is a "Japanese decluttering guru," so it says on the back of the book. She's the author of the life-changing magic of tidying up. Her cleaning system has captured the hearts and minds of clutter bugs everywhere.
After learning how to properly fold my undergarments and the order to hang my clothes - up to the right by size and color, I started on chapter five - tidying books. Aha!
I am not a bookworm
I don't have a lot of books in my house. Crazy right? I'm a writer. Long ago I embraced what Kondo suggests. Don't keep books that you are not going to reread, have a sentimental-information value, and in her ongoing trademark of explaining - books that don't spark joy. I'll spare you all my book purging reasons. But the last page of chapter five hit me in my literary heart - "Becoming a person who matches the books you've kept."
To quote Kondo page 130, "The energy of book titles and the words inside them are very powerful. In Japan, we say that 'words make our reality.' The words we see and with which we come into contact tend to bring about events of the same nature. ...you will become the person who matches the books you have kept."
DAMN!
I walked into my office to take a critical look at the books I have. I have two book areas. One, pictured here, contains all my non fiction writing references. The other, which is too messy to show, has non fiction and fiction titles - many are on the too-be-read shelf, others I just seem to have.
My life is a swirl it seems of magic, mythology, gardening, communications, and travel in America. But also, there are two titles with the word, "out" and not in a good go outside for fresh air sense. Titles about the deleterious effects of drugs and alcohol (from my master's thesis a bazillion years ago.) My bookshelf as tea leaves makes me wonder what reality I maybe trying to escape. Yet interesting to note, it's my orderly writing tomes that I stare at everyday.
My bookshelf changes frequently depending on my research needs and titles I pick up. I wonder if I watch the changes if they'll match my reality.
