We generally keep books at home for the reason- either they
have sentimental value or we re-read them often. Generally home libraries which
we painstakingly acquire over a life time are simply sold off once we leave the
world, with no respect shown to them at all. Also why we keep all these books
at home? To prove our friends how cultivated we are? To decorate the walls? Please remember books are of far more use in
public libraries than at home.
We also keep books at home in case we ever want to look
something up in them. But today it is bit simpler to find anything on your laptop – curtsey internet, the biggest
library on the planet. By donating a book we not only save forests but also
show our generosity towards others and to the book itself since every book
has its own journey to make and we should not condemn it to being stuck on a
shelf.
Let’s leave our books free to travel, to be touched by other
hands and enjoyed by other eyes.
Jorge Luis Borges in one of his poem says:-
There
is a line from Verlaine I’ll never now recall,
There
is street nearby from which my footsteps are barred,
There
is a mirror that has looked its last on my face,
There
is a door I have closed for the final time,
Amongst
the books in my library (I can see them
now)
There
are some I will never open again.
There are books in our homes which we shall never open again
because new, interesting books are constantly being published, and we love to
read them.
From 1st to 6th July 2014, Rotary India
Literacy Mission has embarked upon a mega project :-
“A Million Books, A Million Smiles”
Donate a Book, Make a Library, Teach a
Child
Let us together collect 1 million books and build 1500
libraries across India
Please drop off your books at the nearest Rotary Club
good initiative
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