That photo on the top right of my blog is not something I just casually grabbed from Zemanta or Google, it’s the real deal, it’s my chair and my library. Sure, that Ikea Billy Book case still needs filling up a bit more but I still have a lot of books. Despite having a bit of a rant about the 32 books that I had to plough through last semester, I do genuinely love books and I’d be lost as a person without them. When I was a girl my favourite place to be was curled up with my Grandad’s Readers Digests in a room that he kept just for his books and his Toby jugs (ex-publican!). I’d read Enid Blyton, Catherine Cookson and abridged versions of The Eagle Has Landed and The Three Faces of Eve before I’d even entered my teens, and have had a voracious appetite for books ever since. I always dreamt that one day I would have a library at home (and still hope to build a house one day with an entire room devoted to one with a special pair of sliding ladders!) and this little spot makes me happier than you can ever imagine. My shelves almost reach the ceiling, turn a corner and are organised in genres including a childrens section. My own adult children have their own laminated “Mum’s Library” cards, a borrowing book and stamps for each book they’ve read…..yes really, I am THAT nerdy. I also have a public library card and as a student of the University of Queensland have access to a mind boggling array of e-books and databases in the humanities library, and physical books , including the Fryer Library which has rare and ancient books that are centuries old. I love new books, and pre loved books and (though I have to fess up that I also own a Kindle) I love the fact that Brisbane, thankfully, still has many thriving bookshops. I love books so much that even when I’m not studying I’m usually reading more than one at a time. My shelves have everything from Homer and Ovid to Agatha Christie, to Robyn Hobb, Georges Perec, Tolstoy, Flaubert, Cervantes, Mudrooroo, Ted Hughes, Bill Bryson, Dickens, Eliot, Gaskell, etc etc etc like my tastes in music, it’s eclectic and varied.
This week WordPress featured an amazing post which was written in response to the appalling story of the girl in Pakistan who was shot in the head by the Taliban just for trying to attend school, you can show your support for Malala by uploading a photo of yourself reading a book by following this link to their Facebook page, simple as that, here’s mine (please note that I even could not resist buying a chair with words on it!):-
Reading one of my many books, Long Walk to Freedom, Nelson Mandela
And the original WordPress post that led to this campaign:- http://lenashareef.wordpress.com/2012/10/22/girlwithabook/
Whatever your views are on gender and/or religion It’s 2012 for Godsakes, every man woman and child in the world should already have somewhere that they can go and read books, obtain an education and fulfill their potential; free from fear, hatred, prejudice, subjugation, lack of resources, absence of teachers, or a society that is ambivalent to the power of words to transform, inform, challenge, expand, enrich, entertain, and connect us all together in a shared humanity.
I’m always grateful for everything I have, but this week I’m especially grateful for my books and my education.
I love your chair! where did you get that? good for sitting while reading a book and drinking tea haha
Great post – such a sad story about Malala and the wider issue of discrimination and injustice. Knowledge really is power… so those of us who have the freedom to expand our minds and learn new things shouldn’t take it for granted because it is widely (if not freely) available.
You have such a lovely little corner… and your chair is delightful. The world would be a sad place without books x
It is a lovely corner and my little 6 month old grandson is just old enough now to start having some books read to him
Wonderful post. As you point out, everyone should have the right to books and an education. It’s difficult for most of us to understand that sadly, this isn’t always a given.
We just take it for granted in some countries don’t we? Every morning kids around Australia will be complaining about having to go to school and a story like that just reminded me what a privilege it is even when we are too young to realise it.
The G.O. and I were having a conversation a few evenings ago… ever since my grandparents bought me a weekly Little Golden Book as a preschooler, I have never beeen without books. We have a small bookcase in our city apartment plus piles of books waiting to be read from various sources including my standby, the library and e-books on my phone. There is a larger bookcase, and growing piles at our country abode. The keep finding us but try to keep some perspective… it’s a losing battle I think. I’m lucky, my local library is the City of Sydney Customs House branch. Your post has inspired me, so this week I will take a few photos and post similarly. Malala’s story was awful and I’d like to support awareness of education & books for everyone. I love your library & chair and the “Mum’s Library” cards are fabulous. People who like books, and cats, I sort of like by default
I am more than happy for a ‘default’ like Ella but I feel I must point out that we have a dog and not a cat so I hope that isn’t a deal breaker!! Last year we were caught in a flash flood on a trip to Fremantle, Perth and spent several happy hours in a new and used book shop there and several more reading purchases in Little Creatures Brewery as we waited for the weather to clear. It was one of best days there and says a lot about us I think! Looking forward to seeing which book you chose for your upload Ella
I like dogs & dog people too, and have had the benefit of the company of both, so you are still good
I don’t get people who have issues with a bit of harmless fur or drool, and/or no time for books/reading 
Fantastic post and fantastic library….. I told my daughter a few months ago, when she complained that she didn’t want to go to school, that she was lucky that she lived in a country where she even had the right to go to school. Then the news stories about the young girl in Afgahnistan started circulating. My daughter watched them quietly that first morning then came home with a book title ‘Parvanna’. It was the story of a young girl in Afgahanistan, whose father was imprisoned for being a teacher by the Taliban and as a result the girl had to dress as a boy in order to go into the market place to work, as girls and women were not allowed out on the streets without the company of an adult male. So I am so very gratefull firstly that I have a daughter, and secondly that she has the insight and capacity to think, and above all else the right to recieve an education.
thank you. It made me re asses some of my priorities as well, I actually felt a little guilty because I have so many books and because I’ve been complaining a lot about assessment requirements this semester – we are so lucky and shouldn’t need that sort of story to remind us of that. There is a really fantastic blog I follow of a woman who has been putting out door art installations up in Afghanistan (I think it’s called mountain 2 mountain?) it’s in my side bar on my home pages – God it takes your breath away to think about how brave she and the women who have been looking at that art are, and here we are with no security needed to just amble along to any gallery or library we chose.
Here’s the link for anyone that didn’t see this on on Freshly Pressed – trust me it’s truly inspirational, thought provoking and breaks a few stereotypes of what we might think about the everyday people of Afghanistan – http://mountain2mountain.wordpress.com/