My Books

I have unpacked most of my books and music. Something about their sitting in those dark tight boxes was bothering me. I set them free, dusted them, and put them on the shelves with love, looking at every one of them, looking inside for reminisces of where, when, and how they came to be mine, reflecting on hand-written notes of my friends and family, and in some cases, the author him/herself. I love my books. I once had a large library which I had put together for 20 years. It was entirely lost (to me) in 1996 under unmentionable circumstances. I have re-built this small library now since 1997. When I was leaving Tehran, I brought them all with me, because I couldn’t imagine living without them. As I put all the poetry books together, I took time to read poems of Moshiri, Shafiee Kadkani, and of course, making a wish, my Hafez. I was just standing there with the dusting rag on my shoulder and a silly grin on my face, looking at my books and thinking how very rich I feel because I have books! The most important assets in life, I am continually reminded, are the ones that are free or not very expensive. My books helped last night to begin turning my house into my home. I am lucky, indeed.

These books are actually my books on my table at work. I couldn't find the camera to take a picture of the shelves at home last night! The Hafez book is calligraphed by Ostad Mehdi Fallah, who not only is a Farsi calligraphy artist, but also a gifted musician, and an exceptional individual.