Bubbles Needs A Bigger Book Shelf And An Island Holiday

J.K. Rowling said “I never need to find time to read. When people say to me, 'Oh, yeah, I love reading. I would love to read, but I just don't have time,' I'm thinking, 'How can you not have time?' I read when I'm drying my hair. I read in the bath. I read when I'm sitting in the bathroom. Pretty much anywhere I can do the job one-handed, I read.”

One of the reasons Wijay the Penguin Friend is moving to Langkawi because life in KL is too busy and distracting to read. He’s got a tonne of books which he wants to read and does, but at slower rate than he would like. Solution? Move to an island where you’ll have almost all the time in the world.

What a novel and radical idea. But a little extreme, even for me.

My book shelf is warping in the middle (yes it’s from Ikea) and I have books stuffed into ever conceivable little corner. I need a new book shelf but do not have space for one.

I don’t have the heart to pay RM500 for clothes but it’s no issue when it comes to books. That’s the average I pay at a book ware house sale. I’m laden with an armful of knowledge, fun, entertainment and imagination to last for months. It’s so much more worth it for the price of one designer dress.

My mini library at home is growing. A quarter of which are books I’ve not read. But I can’t help buying especially at Border’s “3 for 2” books and when Times have their member discounts on current titles.

“Marley and Me” has been staring at me each time I enter Borders in the past 6 months. I finally bought it recently. It made me laugh and it made me cry. A must for any dog lover though I was reluctant to read when Marley came to the end of his life time.

I also bought Henry David Thoreau’s Walden yesterday. That’s the book I wanted to get when I read about the line ‘I rather sit on a pumpkin……’

Friends have been raving about The Secret by Rhona Byrne. Sounds like the hottest you-can-be-rich-and-get-what-u-want book since Rich Dad Poor Dad. Instead, I chose The Science of Success by Wallace D Wattles who is one of the contributors in The Secret.

Now, if only I don’t have to entertain, meet people for various reasons, run errands and man a jumble sale stall this weekend.

Taking a sabbatical to an island sounds more and more like a feasible idea.

I Would Rather Sit On A Pumpkin

I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion.

- Henry David Thoreau

I came across this line while watching CSI last night. CSI has thought me a lot…… besides how to get away with murder.

And this line about the pumpkin really got me. I like quirky quotes. But I also thought that there was more to the quote.

So I searched the net on Henry David Thoreau. I found out he was born in Concord, Massachusetts on July 12, 1817. He was born to John Thoreau and Cynthia Dunbar Thoreau. He contracted tuberculosis around 1835 and died in Concord, Massachusetts on May 6, 1862. He was buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetary.

Henry David Thoreau was not highly appreciated during his lifetime, but he is now considered one of the foremost American writers of the 19th century. Works like "Walden" and "Civil Disobedience" are often studied in classrooms.

Other than his biography, I could not find out that much more about the pumpkin line or in which context it was quoted it. Anyone got a copy of Walden? I usually like buying my books but I doubt I’ll be reading this one from cover to cover. I just wanna know more about the pumpkin.

As for how I interpret that line and how it affects me in modern life (the line was quoted about 150 years ago), I literally would like to sit on a pumpkin, if only I could find one that big here in Malaysia. Even if we can find some during Halloween, they’re usually quite small, dented and deformed.

As for metaphorically, in recent times, I find that I would rather do something cosy and personal like having a nice dinner with my darling or a small group of friends over going to a club where I get pushed and shoved , have no space to dance and have to wait too long for drinks. And this is in the VIP area! I have no clue how I managed it before….. 4 times a week.

Thus in a nutshell, I’d rather sit on a pumpkin with Paul than to fight the crowds in a club.