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Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor

 

I saw that Tiffany’s sister Shayna posted on her Facebook, “Made my goal of reading 50 books this year and I’m still going strong!”  When I read that, I was impressed!  And I admired her.  That’s a lot of books I thought.  And that made me want to finish the book that I purchased in the airport bookstore in Minneapolis. It was one of my New Year’s Resolutions was to complete one book a month for every month this year.  Totally doable, I thought.  I just finished Book #2 this morning.  I was never a reader.  I remember lying on my weekly reading slips in elementary school about the titles of books “I read” and for how long “I read” them for.  I listed titles of books that were laying around my room and would write 20 minutes here, 15 minutes there.  And my parents would sign off on it.  I would turn that piece of paper into my teachers. Thing was, I always loved books.  I  collect books more than I actually read them.  I love book stores and book fairs.  I love the illustrations of front covers.  I love how the description on the back makes me want to read each one I pick up.  I love their weight and tangibility.  I love carrying one in my purse and in my carryon for long flights.  I love the colors and fonts of the spines of books when they’re lined up side-by-side on the shelf.  I love the dedication page just before the first chapter.  I love how one book can look older than another.  I love how incredibly worn a book could look.  But most of all, I love highlighting and underlining things I wanted to remember.  That was the best part. “I never thought of my books as being special, only necessary.” -page 28 “…it was one of the best days of my life, a day during which I loved my life and didn’t think about my life at all.” -page 28 “and I put them in Stuff that Happened to Me, my scrapbook of everything that happened to me.” -page 42 “I hope that one day you will have the experience of doing something you do not understand for someone you love.” -page 76 “I like the impatience.” -page 109 “sometimes I can hear the bones straining under the weight of all the lives I’m not living.” -page 113 “Even if I don’t like what I am, I know what I am.  My children like what they are, but they don’t know what they are.  So tell me which is worse.” -page 151 “So many people enter and leave your life!  Hundreds of thousands of people!  You have to keep the door open so they can come in!” -page 153 “It’s hard to say goodbye to the place you’ve lived.  It can be as hard as saying goodbye to a person.” -page 174 “You cannot protect yourself from sadness without protecting yourself from happiness.” -page 180 “He was left-handed like Dad.” -page 245

I saw that Tiffany’s sister Shayna posted on her Facebook, “Made my goal of reading 50 books this year and I’m still going strong!”  When I read that, I was impressed!  And I admired her.  That’s a lot of books I thought.  And that made me want to finish the book that I purchased in the airport bookstore in Minneapolis.

It was one of my New Year’s Resolutions was to complete one book a month for every month this year.  Totally doable, I thought.  I just finished Book #2 this morning.  I was never a reader.  I remember lying on my weekly reading slips in elementary school about the titles of books “I read” and for how long “I read” them for.  I listed titles of books that were laying around my room and would write 20 minutes here, 15 minutes there.  And my parents would sign off on it.  I would turn that piece of paper into my teachers.

Thing was, I always loved books.  I  collect books more than I actually read them.  I love book stores and book fairs.  I love the illustrations of front covers.  I love how the description on the back makes me want to read each one I pick up.  I love their weight and tangibility.  I love carrying one in my purse and in my carryon for long flights.  I love the colors and fonts of the spines of books when they’re lined up side-by-side on the shelf.  I love the dedication page just before the first chapter.  I love how one book can look older than another.  I love how incredibly worn a book could look.  But most of all, I love highlighting and underlining things I wanted to remember.  That was the best part.

“I never thought of my books as being special, only necessary.” -page 28

“…it was one of the best days of my life, a day during which I loved my life and didn’t think about my life at all.” -page 28

“and I put them in Stuff that Happened to Me, my scrapbook of everything that happened to me.” -page 42

“I hope that one day you will have the experience of doing something you do not understand for someone you love.” -page 76

“I like the impatience.” -page 109

“sometimes I can hear the bones straining under the weight of all the lives I’m not living.” -page 113

“Even if I don’t like what I am, I know what I am.  My children like what they are, but they don’t know what they are.  So tell me which is worse.” -page 151

“So many people enter and leave your life!  Hundreds of thousands of people!  You have to keep the door open so they can come in!” -page 153

“It’s hard to say goodbye to the place you’ve lived.  It can be as hard as saying goodbye to a person.” -page 174

“You cannot protect yourself from sadness without protecting yourself from happiness.” -page 180

“He was left-handed like Dad.” -page 245

  1. t-chow said: i think i underlined, like, every other line this time around.
  2. kennygee said: i totally feel the same way. how did i once read over 1000 pages in one quarter but cannot go through a 300 page book in a month is still a mystery to me. i need to pencil it in my schedule. and i still need to finish a tree grows in brooklyn. ek.
  3. ohal posted this