Note: the following blog post is a repost from our 2009 Southwest Regional Retreat Writers Workshop blog page. Click here for the main 2009 C.S. Lewis Southwest Regional Retreat page.

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Inklings & Intentness (the only “I” word I could find for passion)

A Passion for Books, By Terry Glaspey: Editor Harvest House

Book Review by Nan Rinella

Terry Glaspey is having an affair-with books. He has a passion for them.

“I came late to a love for books,” Glaspey writes. As a child, he was addicted to TV but it left him empty. What was missing was a sense of wonder that could best be met by books. This love, when it came, came with a passion.

They say that the most precious things are found in the smallest of boxes. This wee tome is a grand treasure in a tiny package-a sprinkling of gems from the Great Books. I savored every moment of my read. It was like indulging in a box of gourmet chocolates, tasting each morsel, letting it melt in my mouth, and wanting more.

I can only describe this book in terms of feasting on it-not devouring but relishing. Like a rich chocolate (can you tell I’m a chocoholic?) mousse sprinkled with luscious nuts and dried fruits, and presented like a work of art. It’s a beautiful gift book artfully designed with prints, portraits, and chuck full of delicious quotes from the greats.

C.S. Lewis: “No book is really worth reading at the age of ten which in not equally (and often far more) worth reading at the age of fifty and beyond.”

Glaspey refutes computers doing away with printed volumes. He cannot imagine climbing into bed with a computer or languishing in the tub with one. This is my type of person. I was very careful not to let his book fall into my bath.