Curiosity Killed the Cat

 

  A blogger friend, Marian Beaman, recently wrote a post entitled: Too Much of a good Thing. She asked the question: What do you have too  much of?

The answer to that is pretty easy for me. I have too many books! And if you wonder why, it's because I'm a curious person who wants to know things! Even as a child I was like that. I knew that adults had secrets they wouldn't share, because they stopped talking when I came into the room! They did, however, share a Low German saying with me, and I translate:

 "Curiosity has ruined the world, and our Elly has inherited some of it."

I didn't like that saying because it made me feel like I was a bad person just because I wanted to know things. Kind of like Eve in the garden of Eden. She would have been a reader if books had been available in Paradise! Instead, she listened to a snake!

The English equivalent of that saying is "Curiosity killed the cat." Now I'm wondering about its origin  and from what exactly  did the cat die?! Maybe some rat poisoning??

So, I have too much curiosity and that's why I have too many books! They are like friends and I want to keep them all. A former professor of mine had a big library as well, and at his memorial service his children placed a table full of his books in the foyer and people could choose to take books home. By the time I got to that table almost all the books were gone. Some have found a new home in my bookshelves. It spared him the grief of parting with his books and gave his friends back a part of him to keep. (I hope my children are reading this post!). 

I have been going through my  husband, Hardy's things and was delighted to discover a book in the cubby of his office that I had been searching for after he passed away. It was the first present I gave him when we began our courtship. He was in Congo and I was in Canada and we corresponded after he left. I worked in a bookstore and I saw a book that I thought he would relate to. I sent it to him for Christmas. It was written by a young American Mennonite who served a term in Africa (Tanzania) as well. I'm not sure I read it before giving it to Hardy, but I read it again recently, feeling Hardy's presence .

 

Another book in that same cubby which I had not seen before was published in 1955 by the Swiss neurologist and marriage counselor Theodor Bovet (1900-1976) . Bovet wrote it for young men entering puberty.  I was amazed at the insights this author had, including his explanation of homosexuality. I loved reading Hardy's  notes pencilled into the margins! It's written in German originally, but there are English translations of Bovet's books.

My Mennonite readers might be familiar with the book Up From the Rubble by Peter and Elfrieda Dyck. It tells the story of how a large group of Mennonites (including my family) escaped being sent back to Russia by boarding the Dutch ship the Volendam and choosing to go to Paraguay instead.  I have read the book several times. Someone alerted me to a book called Hero for a Hundred: the Story of Herbert Bergen. I had not heard of this man, who also, single handedly, took it upon himself to rescue many people who would have suffered immensely had they been returned to Russia!

Recently my daughter and I attended a book reading about the life of the Jewish poet and musician, Leonard Cohen. I have long been fascinated with his music and how it relates to both the Old and New Testament. The book is a gem.

Those of you who have grandchildren and are interested in saving our planet will enjoy Suzuki's book written for his grandchildren. I found it in my granddaughter's bookshelf and she graciously lent it to me with the words: "I haven't read it yet, Oma, but I intend to one day. Let me know what you think of it". It's a book I read slowly. put away for a while, then picked it up again.

Last, but certainly not least, is a wonderful novel I could not put down. It's not from my bookshelf but was lent to me by my daughter's friend, so it will go back to her. This is a gentle story  about a young boy who is dying. His sister helps him to go through the Valley of the Shadow of Death by talking to C.S. Lewis and reading his Narnia books. This book helped me through my grieving.

After our return from Congo,  I studied and taught German Literature. One day I had a conversation with my mother in which I told her that now I got paid for reading books. There was silence at the other end, then a surprised "ne oba!" (Low German for "no, really!") and "well, you must be getting rich then, because you read a lot!" I didn't tell her that I enriched my knowledge more than my pocket book!