Books most useful on the shelf

As part of my COVID-19 house cleaning, I tasked myself with organizing a bookshelf. Yes, one bookshelf. How could one bookshelf be such a wreck? 

If it weren’t for the safety clip holding this lone bookshelf to the wall, it surely would have toppled over years ago. But thanks to my occupational health and safety awareness, it only took on a healthy lean.

Some of the books hadn’t been touched for over a decade. Probably around the time we had our first and only child. Reading, during this period of life, is relegated to after-hours, of which there are none. 

Ironically, many of the books had to do with child-rearing. “Help, I’m a Parent!” is a prominent title I’ve laughed at many times over, but have never actually opened. Then there are the ones about making your kid smart and successful. We were big fans of the Mozart Effect at one time, and still are. Who can argue that classical music makes us brilliant? 

Then there are the Learn to Speak Russian books, and my binder with language worksheets from when I was far more ambitious than I am today. There was a time when I could almost carry on a simple conversation with my wife... in Russian, that is. Now it’s just, “Da” and “Nyet” (yes... and no). 

That's a good segue into the books on marriage. The “Marriage Handbook” may have come in useful, after dusting it off and paging through it briefly. I wisely put it in the “save” pile. That’s the pile that gets put aside for another ten years before the next cleaning. 

There are some books that I’ve borrowed, and I feel guilty about. My friend from BC gave me a book two years ago, and it was really good, so it's morphed into my permanent collection. With our current travel restrictions, I’m not sure when he'll get it back. 

I have two very similar books on finances: “The Wealthy Barber” and “The Wealthy Barber Returns.” Back when I was an ambitious capitalist (as in a few months ago), these books were quite intriguing. Invest when you’re young! You’ll be a millionaire, cutting hair! Some good advice, but let’s not bet the farm on it. 

Then there’s my bright yellow bestseller, “Feeling Good” by David Burns. I hate to admit it, but I sometimes need books like this. The problem is, it’s 700 pages long. In this day and age, can we really expect someone to read through a 700-page book just to feel better? I’m sure the points are summed up on a website somewhere.

The same could be said for our massive French dictionary in our living room. Its sheer weight could crush a toe or do irreparable damage to the faux wood floor. But we have it, because sometimes (in rare cases) we actually might refer to it – or at least use it to press a leaf. Even my English dictionary from 1990 we still use, albeit for Scrabble games. That doesn't stop us, mind you, from looking up words online (a lot of new words have been invented since 1990, I'm sure).

Finally, I must mention the greatest book of them all: my Greek New Testament Bible. This is a book I'll probably never open again in my life. But it remains a testament (no pun intended) to my scholarly aspirations. Back when I had the determination and free time to spend hours learning an obsolete language. 

But I’ll still keep it, along with the others. They have an impact, just by being there, prominently perched on my showroom shelf. They say something about me.

I am educated. I strive for higher learning. I could have read all of these books, if I had wanted to.