Weekly Geeks #14: Bookish Photos

This week's Weekly Geeks over at The Hidden Side of a Leaf asks for "bookish photos" and I've got just the thing. Actually, I have a couple of boxes' worth, but I'll just feature a few here.

When I was in upstate New York earlier this month, one of my jobs, as my parents prepare to sell their house, was to go through boxes in the attic. And of course boxes-in-the-attic = books. I couldn't part with at least a few dozen books, even some that weren't mine. I just liked them. Most of my four brothers had already gone through the attic, so what was left would either go to the Salvation Army or to me.

Here's just a sampling of what came home with me.

I took a bunch of old storybooks like this. My kids are really past these kinds of books, but they are so old and colorful. I just love them. Old books make great decor.

How much do I love this Great Stories of the Bible? It's not such a pretty book on the outside, but … it's special because of what's on the inside. The inscription indicates that my grandparents gave it to my Dad in 1931, when he was six years old. And I love that my father practiced his own signature, too. I bet my grandmother wasn't too happy about him writing in the book. My grandmother often gave books to us kids as gifts. I have several nice hardback books with her inscription and also dated, which I love. I always forget to do that myself.

The next two sets of books are some of my own favorites from my early childhood. I was the youngest of five children, and I'm sure these books had all been well-loved before I came around. My mother read to me for countless hours, and I have sweet memories of looking at the pictures in these books while she read. I am always aware of what a legacy my parents and grandparents bestowed upon us children with their gift of shelves full of books and time spent reading aloud.

The Brave Little Tailor, Emmett Kelly as Willie the Clown, When I Grow Up, and A Little Golden Book of Manners: four of my favorite Little Golden Books.

And a few more of my childhood companions. The stories about the chipmunks Chap and Chirpy was for sure my favorite.

"He that loves a book will never want a faithful friend, a wholesome counselor, a cheerful companion, an effectual comforter. By study, by reading, by thinking, one may innocently divert and pleasantly entertain himself, as in all weathers, as in all fortunes." —Isaac Barrow