Books, Books, Books: My Turkish Book Collection

“Books to the ceiling,

Books to the sky,

My pile of books is a mile high.

How I love them! How I need them!

I'll have a long beard by the time I read them.” 

― Arnold Lobel

Today the weather and I had a lot in common.  This morning it was bright and warm, but at the edge of town I could see the dark clouds moving in.  By mid-afternoon it was cold and grey, with large bursts of wind throwing me off balance as I trudged along the near empty campus roads.  I like it when the weather matches my mood.  It adds some cohesiveness to the day, and it is in fact comforting to let a dark mood simmer in a dark day.  As a child I always loved a rainy day when I didn't have anywhere particular to go.  I would sit inside, get cozy, and read, read, read. 

All I wanted to do today was read, read, read.  I wanted to head home, curl up on the couch, make some tea and read.  Reading isn't a great option for me right now, with this serious eye problem that has plagued me in the last few days, but the desire to read was still there.  To appease my soul I went to the bookstore instead.  I looked at books, I scanned through the pages.  I told myself not to buy one.  (Books are so expensive these days.)  Yet, I savored the aroma, the texture and the feeling of being surrounded by books.

You see, I love books.  Books are to me what shoes are to many other women.  I find myself buying them, even though I don't particularly need any new reading material.  Sometimes I buy them because I'm in a bad mood, sometimes I'm feeling particularly nostalgic for my childhood, or I just feel like I NEED to buy that book.

My collection of Turkish books began this way.  I started with one or two, just to educate myself about Turkish culture and history.  Then I found a few more that satisfied my desire for travel writing, then a few more that spoke to the culture junkie in me, then a few that would help me learn Turkish, a few to give me new recipes and tips for cooking Turkish cuisine, then a few more…you get the picture. 

I now have around 30 or so books that are somehow related to Turkish language, travel, culture and cuisine, this is not including the many books I have stored electronically on my Kindle.  Yes, it is becoming a source for my nerdy pride - so I must not get out of control - must keep my nerdy pride in check.

However, I want to share this collection with you all.  I am adding a new page to this blog, called "My Turkish Book Collection".  At the moment this list in incomplete.  I have a partial list of titles for now and I'm adding reviews and book information as I read through my list.  You see, with my obsession I have bought far more books that I have been able to read and now I'm trying to get through them all. 

I would love to have suggestions for books that I am missing - if anyone knows of a relevant book that they feel fits with the collection - please leave me a message - either here or on the "Collection" page. 

Tesekkurlar!

Trying to avoid this:

“Finally, from so little sleeping and so much reading, his brain dried up and he went completely out of his mind.” 

― Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quixote