My solace, My friends

I was ecstatic when my cousin-in-law Marivic said we were going out today as soon as my first-grader niece Amber arrives from school. For, I would finally be able to buy the priority books on my wishlist. Understand that I virtually never go out on my own, for Papa wouldn't last a few hours without his favorite grandson on his sight, so I feel like I'm always reduced to a child who widens his eyes every time he hears the teasing phrase: "We're going out to the mall!"

We went to Guildford Town Centre; and as soon as we got to Black Bond Books, I took out my list of books to buy:

1. DragonLance: Leaves from the Inn of the Last Home by Tracy Hickman (1987, Wizards of the Coast)

2. The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell (1972, Princeton University Press)

3. On Dreams by Sigmund Freud (2001, Dover Publications)

4. Essay on Man and Other Poems by Alexander Pope (1994, Dover Publications)

5. A History of Reading by Steve Rogers Fischer (2004, Reaktion Books, Ltd.)

6. A History of Language by Steve Rogers Fischer (2003, Reaktion Books, Ltd.)

7. Charlotte's Web by Elwyn Brooks White (1999, Harper Collins Canada Ltd.)

8. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (1995, Dover Publications)

9. Spirits, Fairies, Leprechauns, and Goblins: An Encyclopedia by Carol Rose (1988, W.W. Norton)

10. Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth by Carol Rose (2001, W.W. Norton)

11. A Deluxe Book of Flower Fairies by Cicely Mary Barker (2003, Frederick Warne)

Unfortunately, to my dismay, most of these books were unavailable. After about an hour of checking books from shelf to shelf, I only got to buy the following:

1. A Deluxe Book of Flower Fairies
2. Charlotte's Web
3. Pride and Prejudice
4. The Lord of the Rings (The One-Volume Edition)
5. Unfinished Tales (The Lost Lore of Middle-earth)

Upon arriving home, I logged on the Internet and checked the Web site of Chapters bookstore. All the remaining books on my list were unavailable at the stores, but it said that I may visit an outlet and order them there and have them delivered home for free. Great! That's what I'll do as soon as I'm able to go to Metrotown, where there's an outlet of my favorite bookstore Chapters. Perhaps, next week.

Even back in the Philippines, I was known to be a bibliophilist. In fact, I brought many of the books in my collection. And now, here in Canada, I've been pursuing this hobby of book collecting. In the one year and several months of my being here, I've already amassed a shelfful of new books, which I regard as my faithful and silent companions in moments I want to forget all my woes. I collect usually fantasy fiction, poetry, classic literature, language books, and a few of other genres. Tolkien, DragonLance, and Star Wars comprise most of my fantasy-fiction books.

My solace, My friends

How each turn of a leaf exudes a scent far more alluring than the most fragrant flower
How each page that I read gifts me with new insights and knowledge
How the smoothness of every leaf, to my touch, feels like my lady's skin
How just marvelling at my bookshelf equals pondering the Eiffel or, perhaps, Stonehenge

Books, O' books!
My solace, my friends
My faithful and silent companions on nights I want to forget my woes
My quiet and trusted accomplices in moments I want to get lost in some other world

aLfie