An Ode to Books
Digital Marketing Manager, Jo Galvin, shares her memories of falling in love with books.
Perhaps it was the creaky sound of sellotaped pages turning in books so loved and so well read. Or the library my big sisters set up on the stairs, with library cards and strict librarians. Or maybe it was Nigel Hinton reading Beaver Towers to my class and devouring the whole series by daylight as it was too scary to at night. Or was it Shirley, the red-headed storyteller I met at Hatchards on a school trip who cemented my love of books? Her enthusiasm was contagious. If I’d known then, that one day I would have the pleasure of working in publishing, I would’ve been a very happy 7 year old indeed.
Every one of those interactions sent me further down the rabbit hole of books.
It’s entirely possible to transport yourself back in time remembering where you read a certain book and how you felt at the time – the Judy Blume back catalogue devoured as a young teenager, the magical Márquez I dissected at 21 and The Blind Assassin read travelling alone at 26. And now with little children of my own, I get to start all over again with picture books and see their eyes grow wide with wonder at the worlds we visit each night.
So, this Valentine’s Day I want to say thank you, dear books. Thank you for the stories, the pictures, the worlds and the characters, the authors, the illustrators, the librarians and booksellers. Thank you to the teachers who made time for stories in our busy day. And for my mum who would nod off mid bedtime story but never let us go to bed without a book.
My girls and I are currently reading a lot of Dr. Seuss at bedtime and, for me, this quote says it all:
“The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go” – Dr. Seuss.
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