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Parting is such sweet sorrow.

February 25th, 2008 at 06:22pm me

How do you say goodbye to an old friend? Someone who was there for you through thick and thin, sickness and health, good and bad? The one who helped you through the long week of you grandfather’s funeral, the flu, writer’s block, the Great Blackout of 2003, boredom, and surgery?

You remember when you first met. He made you laugh. He enthralled you. He made your heart race. You couldn’t get enough of him. But now, something is missing.

Like page 163.

That’s right, my friend is a book.

It’s been my favorite book for about 6 years or so. I read it at least twice a year; last year more. But there is only so much a paperback can take. The spine is cracked, the binding’s shot, and the pages are falling out.

But I can’t bring myself to get rid of it. It’s always been there for me, so how can I just abandon it? How can I (gasp) throw it away?

Throwing it out is the reasonable option; I would relegate it to the Island of Misfit Books if I donated it to the Salvation Army or the local library—who wants a book with missing pages? But I can’t just leave it to a life of slow decomposition among used coffee grounds, brown banana peels, and dirty diapers.

I finally broke down and bought a new copy. The same exact book, the same friend, only without the dog ears and faded cover. So why do I feel disloyal? It’s almost like an illicit love affair and I am cheating on my beloved with someone younger.

I once read – and correct me if I am wrong because I am sure I am – that Jewish people consider books friends and treat them accordingly with a proper burial when they reach “the end.” This is a lovely sentiment, but not one that would be looked upon kindly by my condo association, let alone the people living below me. So that, too, is out as an option.

So what am I left with?

Free to good home: Friendly, loving book. Likes sitting on lap, snuggling in bed, laughter, and pina coladas, but please don’t let it get caught in the rain. Needs TLC.

Entry Filed under: Books