A post about books...

One of my biggest jobs lately has been sorting out Joe’s vast collection of books and deciding which to keep and which to donate to charity. The job itself would have been easy if it wasn’t for the fact that a lot of books were on the top shelf of his wardrobe, out of reach for me. This was when I discovered that our steps are missing. We have ladders and tall steps, all too heavy for me to carry, but the smaller steps that I can manage have disappeared. I’m thinking a tradesman must have waltzed off with them and we never noticed. Because of this, getting the books down was a dodgy experience. I'm thankful the rest of his collection was and still is in a simple floor-standing bookcase.

But let’s get back to the books. There were great heavy tomes. I love that word – it was my surname at one time, but with a capital T. The books were mostly instructional, about the accountancy profession or ‘how to do’ things: household tasks, computer lessons, photography and lots more. The daft thing is that he didn’t read them. He bought them to learn from but never got round to it. He wasn’t a DIY sort of man, you see. He did have some novels and historic works but those books are housed in a floor standing bookcase. I’ll get round to them another day. BUT you only had to ask him a complicated question involving figures or accounts and he had the answer in seconds without using pencil and paper. Some have that kind of brain, others don’t. I’m one that doesn’t quite know how to use a brain.

The book in the picture is one I bought, one I had forgotten about, and one he didn’t bother to read even though he had set his heart on ownership. I’m not really surprised considering the size and content.

One book of significance is a book about Bobby Charlton, ex Manchester United football player. Joe was at a function where there were books for sale so when he spotted said book he bought it. Coincidentally Bobby Charlton was at the same function so when Joe spotted him he showed him the book. Bobby signed the book and also gave him an autographed photograph. This book was precious to Joe so I needed to do something more than leave it on a shelf. I took it to the St Giles Hospice charity shop to ask their advice on the best way to use it. Apparently they have a ‘shop’ on EBay so they can auction the book and raise more money for their charity. After the care the hospice gave to Joe the least I could do was help boost their funds.

Ha...since writing I have found the steps. One place I forgot to look in was the garage. Imagine my surprise when I opened the garage door and spotted the steps lurking in a corner ... right next to my car. Apologies to all those I blamed.

Finally, I have a book called The Memory Handbook .... I guess it’s time I read it.