Close relatives of mine are in the process of moving out of the house they’ve called home for thirty-five years and into a senior residence. The challenge of downsizing from a seventeen-room dwelling to a four-room one is obvious; countless decisions have to be made whether to give away, donate to charity, or sell. They thought one novel possession of theirs would miss the cut for all three, but they were wrong.
A giant dictionary—of the type you’d have seen in a school or public library in a bygone era—measuring probably a foot and a half high, eight inches thick, and its few thousand pages weighing in at over twenty pounds–had been rescued from a school library many years before and had been displayed on a podium in their den ever since. At one time, it was likely a complete listing of all English words, but now, by anyone’s analysis, it was a dinosaur of a dictionary.
Yet, it sold. Of course, there are book collectors and antique collectors out there, and one of those probably landed a great deal that day. Nevertheless, two themes emerge from this anecdote: books never go out of style, and many of us are collectors of SOMETHING.
Where does our penchant for collecting come from? Is it a gene we’re born with, or does something along the way turn us on to it? Who can possibly know? And for genuine collectors, who cares? It may be a blessing and a curse, but it’s also just great fun. My wife took a swipe at this when she wrote our most popular children’s book, LUCIUS AND HIS COLLECTION OF UNUSUAL THINGS.
Unlike the dictionary, LUCIUS charms both children and adults. Its whimsical rhyming story and humorous illustrations are a captivating combination that shows this collector not as a crazy man, but simply one on his own path to happiness. As Lucius explains to his young visitor: “So if my collection isn’t your style, at least I can say that it makes me smile!”
Perhaps this book will fit nicely in your collection? Or give it to collector friends to let them know you don’t think they’re wacko!
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