Books and Investment

Books an Investment ©

By Michael Casey

I used to read by the yard, I sat next to the school library, 5 shelves of books, so I read almost all of it, literally reading by the yard, we weren’t metric then, reading by the metre would sound strange.

We’ve just had half term, so I bought a few books for my girls, Lemony Snicket 13 book boxed set was great value from one site on the internet. I even bought a cheap huge Spanish dictionary which will help my daughter,  she can stand on it to reach to academic heights. Internet is great but books still need to be read, the touch and feel of books is such a nice sensation, the smell too is nice, it does encourage learning. Curling up with a book is nice. You can hide under the duvet while the rain lashes down, while the snow blankets the streets and rooftops, a nice book and a warm drink, perfect as the cat purrs at the bottom of your feet.

We all went on a trek to Spring Hill library, only the library was shut, so our brother said “you’ve seen the library then”, we turned tail and walked the 2 miles back to the house. There was a little sweet shop next to it but we had no money for sweets. That was before the flats were built, before the big Tesco store too, the library is still there, a listed building. Thinking about it I remember getting all the Sherlock Holmes from the Spring Hill library, 40years ago and more, the John Creasy books too. Nobody had books in their houses then, so a trip to the library really did open doors, doors in the mind.

I   remember 35years ago and more when I was unemployed, I’d buy an LP, CDs weren’t invented then, so I’d buy an LP, John Denver Back Home Again and a few books and that would keep occupied until the next dole payment. I read all the John Wyndham books and filled a bedside cabinet. In Birmingham city centre we had Hudson’s book shop on New Street. This was a rabbit warren full of books, the Hobbit meets books. JRR Tolkien was a Birmingham man after all. After that reading break I applied for one computer job and got it and stayed for 21years.

On holidays I’d find the book shop and buy a ton of books to keep me busy while we sat on the beach at Abegele or wherever. I found the Don Camillo books that my History teacher had recommended so it was such a trill to discover them. 30 years later I rediscovered them and bought second hand copies on Amazon, there are a few Don Camillo stories online too, so take a peek. Today I’ve ended up reading the Grimm fairy tales, and they are so good, we watch the Grimm tv detective show on Sky and those are great too, based loosely on the brothers Grimm stories, so maybe indirectly they have led me to reading the brothers Grimm, and yes watch the tv show its on at 9pm on Sky.

Books have other uses too, you can use them to prop up your bed when the bed leg breaks, we used a tin of beans and an old metal iron, the kind used 100years ago to iron, to prop up my brother’s bed, but books work too. So support your mind and support yourself and your bed. If you forget to get the toilet paper from the store you could always use a page or two from a book, assuming you’re not going to reread a book.  The ultimate critique of a book, use it as toilet paper. Books can get musty and dusty and go horrible so make sure you don’t keep them next to a damp wall.

If ever I sell any of my 5 books I will buy my daughter a bookshelf, she has 130books piled up against the wall by her bed, I have Grimm and Don Camillo by my bed, and a Dab radio. A prayer book or a Bible is next to some people’s beds for as we all know in the beginning was the Word.