When I was young, my biggest wish was to have bookcases covering the walls of my living room. I loved reading and I went to the public library several times a week. Then I moved to Luxembourg and there was no library nearby (besides I found out that most of the Luxembourgers don't like to keep their books in the living room). That's when I started buying books, lots of them.
When I started decluttering and downsizing last year, I decided that I needed to take a closer look at my bookshelves too. I realized I didn't need to keep every single book I read and dust it off for the rest of my life (just to make me look smart). I started to purge the books I didn't like first. Then I brought a whole pile of old smelly paperbacks to the recycle center. Some weeks later I was ready to let go of the books that I read once, but would never read again.
I still had a lot of books left. Until both my washing machine and my dryer (can you imagine?!) broke down and they didn't get the new machines around the corner upstairs, where I have my bookcases. They said I had to move them. "Vous n'êtes pas sérieux?", I asked hopefully, but unfortunately they were. They "helped" me by taking out big piles and dropping them somewhere. So when they left me with all my books on the floor, I decided that this was the final round. I cleaned them and sorted them out. I have - of course - kept all the unread books and I forbid myself to buy new ones until I have read each and every one of them (can someone block my Amazon account please!). The books that earned a place on my bookshelf are special to me, I love and re-read them.
Let me show you some of the books that made it onto my bookshelf.
I have many books about Africa, and the interesting thing is that I bought most of them long before we adopted and fell in love with the continent.
^
I LOVE LOVE Kobie Krüger's The Wilderness Family. She writes about the magical years as wife of a game warden at South Africa's Kruger National Park. I loved every word in this book. We really have to go there someday and show the kids this part of their roots.
^
Another book about South Africa (I think there is no such thing as coincidence): Rae Graham's White Woman Witch Doctor. This is the autobiographic story of her life in South Africa and her rigorous ten-year apprenticeship to become a witchdoctor.
^
I dreamed of Africa. I have read this book several times. A beautiful and sad story of an Italian woman whose life is driven by love of Africa.
When I started decluttering and downsizing last year, I decided that I needed to take a closer look at my bookshelves too. I realized I didn't need to keep every single book I read and dust it off for the rest of my life (just to make me look smart). I started to purge the books I didn't like first. Then I brought a whole pile of old smelly paperbacks to the recycle center. Some weeks later I was ready to let go of the books that I read once, but would never read again.
I still had a lot of books left. Until both my washing machine and my dryer (can you imagine?!) broke down and they didn't get the new machines around the corner upstairs, where I have my bookcases. They said I had to move them. "Vous n'êtes pas sérieux?", I asked hopefully, but unfortunately they were. They "helped" me by taking out big piles and dropping them somewhere. So when they left me with all my books on the floor, I decided that this was the final round. I cleaned them and sorted them out. I have - of course - kept all the unread books and I forbid myself to buy new ones until I have read each and every one of them (can someone block my Amazon account please!). The books that earned a place on my bookshelf are special to me, I love and re-read them.
Let me show you some of the books that made it onto my bookshelf.
I have many books about Africa, and the interesting thing is that I bought most of them long before we adopted and fell in love with the continent.
^
I LOVE LOVE Kobie Krüger's The Wilderness Family. She writes about the magical years as wife of a game warden at South Africa's Kruger National Park. I loved every word in this book. We really have to go there someday and show the kids this part of their roots.
^
Another book about South Africa (I think there is no such thing as coincidence): Rae Graham's White Woman Witch Doctor. This is the autobiographic story of her life in South Africa and her rigorous ten-year apprenticeship to become a witchdoctor.
^
I dreamed of Africa. I have read this book several times. A beautiful and sad story of an Italian woman whose life is driven by love of Africa.
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