Step on a Crack

Stephanie wrote a few months ago about books she’s reread. I have stacks and stacks of books that I’ve read more than once–the list could probably go on for quite some time. But tonight while I was picking up and packing and getting things ready for our vacation next week, this book popped into my head. I finished up what I was doing and sought it out on my shelves, in the process finding a set of luggage tags that will come in handy.

Stanley wanted to play fetch (have you ever had a cat play fetch? It is totes adorbs.) so badly that he pushed a toy under the door to me, so I grabbed my book and went to read on the couch so I could throw his toy for him.

Of course I’ve finished it; a 180 page for ages ten and up book is obviously a one-sitting read for me. And so nostalgic; I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve read Step on a Crack. Dozens, at least.

This is the cover that once graced my copy. It fell off years ago, but I do still have the first pages, something that a few of my other well-loved paperbacks are not lucky enough to still have.My mother saw me reading, and gasped, are you reading a book without a cover? I had to reassure her that it had a cover, once upon a time. When she bought it for me, probably thirty years ago.

I’ve been thinking about doing a huge purge of my physical books, since I have a Kindle Unlimited account and I can borrow ebooks from my local library. They’re stacked so high and crammed so tight that I could probably lose half of them and still have a respectable collection. And downsizing feels like a good idea. Less complicated.

But the contrast would be so stark between tattered, miserable paperbacks like this one and nice, pretty hardcovers that still have dustjackets. I don’t know. We’ll see if I’m able to do it or not.

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