Just in time I have gotten my hands on a library loan. A book that I have been curious about for years. I reserved it from the library in mid-June, and it just came available on Wednesday. I am possibly the last person to read this classic novel. Barely 100 pages in and I’m hooked. The Secret History by Donna Tartt, is living up to its classic reputation. Loving all of these characters, with their bizarre quirks and entangled secrets.
Gothic, mansions, surreal libraries, lakes, academia, retro setting–I’m loving it all.
It’s not necessarily the book I want to talk about though; it’s the fact that it’s a library book. When I took it off the reserve shelf (with the bold font reserve tag bearing my initials THLI) I felt a thrill to the touch. It was just as I had suspected: it feels amazing in my hands, as though the paper has turned into soft pliable leather as a result of strangers’ hands. The almost splitting spine is a testament to the eager readers who came before me.
I suspect it will be a challenge to finish the book within the three-week allotment. There is no renewal on books like this one. The long reserve list of avid readers is too numerous to allow it. This reminds me that I should have bought the book brand new last year when I saw it on the local bookstore shelf. Now I will definitely be buying it anyway, even if I finish the library copy, because it is a book I have a hunch I’ll want at my fingertips.
Coincidentally, I penned a short poem in an ode to the beloved library book before laying my hands on this precious copy.
Your spine is cracked
Your pages worn
With fingerprints unknown
The joy and distraction
You give free and sublime
Escape I do, into your pages divine
A delight of time in-fi-nite
Comfort the forlorn
With written words enshrined
-LTW
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