Annotated books: a poem
There is something about annotated books
that always intrigues me.
Nothing gives me more delight,
than seeing a book that has been annotated by the previous reader.
Seeing a book with underlined words,
highlighted sentences,
notes on paragraphs,
scribbles on the pages,
and seeing that the reader has entirely become one with the book,
makes me fall in love with it.
It is the reason I have a fascination with old books.
The feeling that someone read the same lines before you
and felt something.
Something that moved them,
something that struck with them so much
that they had to mark it.
It is the feeling of being able to relate to the person
who read the book before you
and feeling an emotional connection with them,
even if you’ve never seen them.
It makes me curious about what was going on in their mind while reading.
Did they savour the book just like me?
Did they take pauses after reading something powerful so as to fully let it sink in?
Did they imagine what a character would be like in the real world?
Do they fold the pages as I do?
Did they love the book as much as I did?
So reader,
love a book passionately,
make it yours deliberately
but when you’re done,
pass it on
ardently.
- Dipra Arora
