Monday, January 2, 2012

Never Again

We've moved a lot, but, until our most recent move, I have never lost anything. Many, many things have been broken or damaged. But nothing ever got lost along the way. This time two boxes went missing. One box had M's cowboy hat in it. Easily replaceable in Calgary, especially around Stampede time. No biggy.

The other box was full of books.

Now I love my books. I have carried my copy of The Annotated Lolita, an absolute favorite and a memory of college from Chicago, to California, Argentina, Texas, Korea and Canada. Thankfully that was not in the box that got lost. My Shakespeare picture book, the one I have had since I was 10, that did not get lost. See, I can tell you all of the books that didn't get lost. Bark George? Yes, it made it. None of the essentials are gone. J and M's faves also made it.

What I can't do is tell you what was in the box. Did some of my husband's college Engineering textbooks go missing? One can only hope.

The benefit of moving with a major corporation is that they will replace anything that gets lost. But I couldn't remember. I could put a general value on the box ... it was small so $300 seemed about right. But I'll never replace what was in THAT box.

Never Again.

I am not an obsessive cataloguer. I don't keep lists. But I have decided that this is one list that will be invaluable. I have reworked my Library Thing account and paid for a lifetime membership. Smart, cause if my computer gets lost, the whole list will be online! Right now, only the books that are in Canada with us will be on the list (cause if I can't remember what was in one box, do you really think I will be able to remember what are in the 200 other boxes we left in Texas?)

Some of the books will never be able to be replaced if lost (like the Lolita), but at least I won't wonder what I lost.

If you are a Library Thing member, let's be friends. Just remember, I am putting ALL of the books in the house in the general "Your Library" category. If you want to see what I read, you will have to look under "Patricia's" Library.

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