Gloaming Thoughts

The family snooze away in bed, and I write late into the night.  A beer on the go, and a nocturnal cool settles subtly on my bare arms.

Books are, of course, my chosen subject to write about, a topic that has so many facets, often hidden in plain sight, and so much scope.

Yet as I catch up with the notes on my recent reads, the memories of books long given away take over.

In this late and gently expiring hour, the recollections come thick and fast.  The night always makes one introspective, especially for the past.

On this particular night my eye – and hand – run down the imaginary bookshelf of recall, mixed with different eras of my collecting, the covers vivid and smooth.

An old Famous Five cover from a nearly complete set purchased years ago, the variously tactile cover of the hardback edition of Endymion Spring…

An exploration of architecture in Egyptian temples, and the stark bleakness of outer space, adventuring astronauts lost to everything but themselves.

It’s these times I value.  The unique wanderings in a labyrinthine world of words, reminding me of literary corridors I will, perhaps, walk down again…

Whether in contemplation or purposely.

Reminders of books moved on, in necessity or wrongly thought of as outgrown, treasures lost to me in haste.

Always these ghosts come at night, I like it that way, I am forever grounded in their literary shadow.  Elusive yet bound to my heart.

 

*Image found at Pixabay

18 Replies to “Gloaming Thoughts”

  1. Ste J, your late night reflections are beautifully conveyed, the writing taking on a poetic hue as you consider your past of books! Your love of them mimicking mine and I can well relate to “I am forever grounded in their literary shadow.”

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    1. I just can’t get enough of books, they bring out the sensitive side in me, I expect, definitely the poetic. It pleases me that I am able to connect with you on this shared love.

      Liked by 1 person

  2. Do you know, Ste J., I haven’t completed a book for close to a year now. I pick them up, or access them on my library website, but get about half-way through and then don’t finish. This is weird, because I’ve been a big reader all my life. Actually, there are two I’ve finished this year, which are waiting to be written upon, both upon the subject of prejudice, “The Secret Life of Bees” and “Small Great Things,” I believe the title was. I haven’t posted regularly for even longer. You encourage me with all your posts, so maybe someday soon, I’ll get to it again. In the meantime, keep on truckin’, as we used to say.

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    1. I want to keep on posting, this year so far has seen a rich vein of ideas and drafts coming through, it’s just finding the time to finish them but I want to keep inspiring, or at least entertaining with the blog which is nearly ten years old now. I have been very on and off with reading of late although I am trying to squeeze in one final book before the change of scenery/continent. Nothing like taking it to the wire, and burning the candle at both ends.

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      1. Well, you and Crissy and baby makes three travel safely to your other home in the Philippines. I wonder how Amelia will take to the change of climate. Sometimes if babies aren’t used to extra heat (or cold, for that matter), they get fussy. But if she’s got your and Crissy’s equanimity, she’ll probably adjust pretty soon. Happy flight!

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        1. Crissy’s mum has joined us for the last two weeks here, so we are all heading back and an extra pair of hands may help the stress factor too. Thirteen and a a half hour flights are a challenge by oneself let alone a four month old. The heat will probably be around 28 degrees when we arrive but sleep will probably come soon after, until we get back to the dogs when it will be pleasant chaos.

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  3. Love your thoughts Ste J. We lost a lot of books during typhoon Ondoy back in 2009. I haven’t been able to replace most of them.

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      1. Yes, I miss my Markings book by Dag Agne Hammarskjöld, Man’s Search For Meaning by Viktor Frankl, Mister God, This is Anna by Fynn to name a few and of course my two trade paperbacks of GGM’s Love In The Time of Cholera and One Hundred Days of Solitude.

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        1. The loss of Márquez is always a sad one, it’s a shame that Fully Booked is so expensive for books, and I don’t have the patience to go through all the double shelved books in Booksale. There’s not enough room in the one’s near us.

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    1. That is up in the air, so to speak, with recent events. When I get a moment to blog about that I will. On a lighter note, it pleases me that you liked this effort.

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        1. It is worrying, and not worth all the stress when at least the government was quicker to shut the border, and the NHS is ready for outbreaks compared to the Philippines. We made the right choice.

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  4. I really like this post. Your words were vivid and flowing, which made for a great read. Keep up the good work. I’ve been quite busy lately, but its been fun catching up this evening.

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    1. This was one of my rare moments when the words came quickly enough, which was as surprising as it was pleasing. I shall be catching up with your blog soon, there is always so much to catch up on when one returns from a long blogging break but I am excited to find out what I’ve missed.

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