BOOK HOARDING ADVICE FOR BEGINNERS

Book hoarding is not a disease.

If that makes you feel better, you might be a librarian.

Not a librarian, but still have loads of books?

Still not a disease, and here’s why:

You might actually read the books you buy, or books you receive some other way.

Books are not the same as fourteen Phillips head screw drivers, or ten hammers.

Books are different between the covers. That’s why you take a chance and buy one, then another, and away you go.

If you’ve seen a picture of an overloaded man carrying two suitcases, a large backpack, and assorted shoulder bags hanging off him, then you’ve seen me moving to New York.

This was before the invention of the wheel . . . on suitcases.

I must have weighed four hundred pounds that day. And such a day.

You’ll never know what you’re made of until you lug your library onto a train and hope there’s room to put things down.

Luckily I was fit, mid-twenties, and hadn’t read the books I had.

Did I ever consider abandoning my books? Not yet.

The Book Hoarding ‘Collection’

I had books from my freshman year of college, along with books I bought while I was in the Army for two years following freshman year.

I enlisted in 1974, just in time to be classified as a Vietnam-Era vet without leaving American soil.

The books I bought then included Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance, Alive: The Story Of The Andes Survivors, All The President’s Men, and writing books, books about writers, books explaining why anyone would ever want to write something.

Added to the pile were books on sports, technology, and more writing.

If I ever had anything more important to say than, “One ticket to New York City, please,” I’d find it in books written by writer people.

Opps, I skipped the two years at University of Oregon after the Army where I attended English major classes and every writing class on the schedule while ignoring university requirements.

Why do it that way? Because I had in my mind that I would be well read, but no academic.

My version of the common man carried a load of books to prove I was no idiot, even if I felt like one lugging my crap through rush hour subway pushing and shoving.

To show some honesty, I wasn’t alone. I had a guide. My cousin had a place in Brooklyn with an extra room while she attended law school.

She met me at Penn Station and ran interference while I dragged along behind her.

I got well acquainted with Penn Station, meeting others there on their visits.

Did I take any of them on book hoarding adventures?

No, that was just for me. After all, it’s not a wasted lonely day if you find a book, and I was a long way from home.

Mentoring The Youths Through Books

When I say youths I’m talking about my two kids and their friends.

I’ve known their friends since I coached them from kindergarten on until they wised up and found other things to do.

Their names are Charlie, Granite, Alex, Mark, Sean, Joey, Chris, David, and a long, long, list of others.

They’ve all got fascinating stories of their own. My part is a fleeting reference since my goals were encouraging them to explore sports as an internal contest.

Unlike other ‘Dad Coaches’ I wasn’t training teams to win the World Title For Third Graders so I’d have something to hang on my Wall of Fame.

Instead, I guided them to the following season, and the one after. Since I coached different sports every season some of them spent loads of time under my tutelage.

Was I doing mentoring work? Only as much as they needed. I avoided becoming a father substitute to avoid any confusion.

One of my standard talks to grade school kids back then went like this:

“Do you know who to ask if you want a piece of gum and you don’t have any?

“How about a pencil or pen. Do you know who has an extra in each class.

“If you’re having a hard time on a subject do you have friends who can help?

“Keep an eye out for classmates who know where to get weed, booze, heroin, cocaine, or meth. When you get to middle school you’ll hear talk and you won’t believe it.

“Go ahead and believe it, and add something like, “You need to talk to someone about this.””

I had one kid tell me he didn’t take his meds on game day because, “I want to play like crazy.”

His parents were shocked to know this.

Sharing Books

One way to cancel any idea of book hoarding is sharing.

“Do you share books with friends? Exchange books? Talk about what you’re reading? Do that and you’ll never be alone.”

Good books bring good people together. Reading is commonly known as a great learning tool.

Who doesn’t need a great learning tool to help out?

Check your book shelves.