Old friends

Credit: Carol Pope

Carol Pope

I’ve always loved the Marcus Tullius Cicero quote, “A room without books is like a body without a soul.”

Sometimes, I’ve taken this to extremes though, using it as justification to buy volumes by the box at every used book sale I can get to. Certainly, despite my continual reminders of how these beloved books give our house heart, I did not endear myself to my family during our recent move when they lugged 100-plus boxes of dusty old tomes from place to place. Nevertheless, now with bookcases finally up and ready to go, I know that they too will be glad to see these old friends in place, warming up our house like a lazy dog in front of the flickering fireplace or a pot of hot soup bubbling on the wood-burning stove.