At least one commutes on Metro with me, often two, fiction and nonfiction. And always, of course, my own little black book, my journal, along for the ride.
Why must I have books around me? More books than I can possibly read?
Same reason I've always loved bookstores and libraries, I guess, which has something to do with the special calm that comes over me when I'm in them.
Here within reach this Friday morning are two memoirs, a novel, a book on mindfulness and another on grace, two books on place and some historical fiction.
Will I read all of these within the next hour? Unlikely. I'm reading page proofs today. But having books at hand, knowing I can dip into them at any moment, is a way of being. Books are as essential as air.