Last week, I finally bid farewell to a bunch of books that were damaged in the flood, after my feeble attempts at resuscitation. One of my shelves got submerged in the knee-deep flood that entered our house, and most of the books that were on the lower layer got damaged. I am thanking my lucky stars that I never considered storing my Harry Potter collection downstairs.
Prior to this, while I was in Singapore, my mom had already thrown away a batch of paperbacks that were an indistinct mess after the flood. When I got back, I still had a couple batches of soggy hardcovers drying out next to to the fridge (where it’s warm), weighing about thrice their original weight due to the water absorbed by the pages.
Last week, my cousin (who’s completing her internship at the Philippine General Hospital) warned me about the dangers of keeping active mold spores inside the house and I was getting paranoid, as my mom and sister were both nursing a bad cold, so I decided to conquer the pile once and for all.
The flood in our part of the city was clear so my books didn’t get muddied, and because I’m a compulsive plastic coverer, they don’t look as banged up. My main problem was mold growth, pages that stuck together, a refusal to dry completely (after three weeks), and a funky stench that makes me gag when I open them.
Here, detailed photos (don’t worry I had Lysol in hand):
I packed the books up in a black bag and towed the pile to the garage. Flipper friend Marie wants to try her hand at resuscitation, but the mold’s a ticking bomb and so far the constant spraying of Lysol mold killer doesn’t seem to have any effect. Perhaps the better option would be to recycle them for paper pulp.
It’s sad that I lost these books before I got to read them, but again, nothing irreplaceable, and relatively minor compared to some of our book club friends who lost half or even their entire libraries, on top of their furniture and their homes. We’ll be helping them rebuild their libraries, with the help of some awesome moocher friends abroad.
You would probably expect me to have run to the nearest book store to replenish my stash of books, but I think I must still be in shock, as I haven’t gone out to buy books ever since I came home and saw my books in this state. That, and reshelving hundreds of books that I haven’t even finished reorganizing yet at this point.
So there, I am saying goodbye to these books, and I’ll borrow a few lines from Pablo Neruda’s Ode to Things:
Not only did they touch me,
or my hand touched them:
they were
so close
that they were a part
of my being,
they were so alive with me
that they lived half my life
and will die half my death.
Sniff. May they cross my path once again.
Awwww….Blooey, I feel for you. What a horrible waste.
That sucks. Hopefully you can replace these guys for cheap.
Hay, I know the feeling. Most of the books I lost in the flood were my Christian books, and some of them have helped me through a lot of tough times. I had to throw away one book I’ve been meaning to save because I can see spots forming, and it was a birthday gift too. Oh well. :(
I haven’t had the heart to buy new books too. I’ve finished fixing my shelf, but I get so paranoid that I don’t want to store anything at the bottom shelf anymore. :|
I have yet to reply to your email pala. I made a list of the books I lost, I hope I can find it somewhere at home. ^^;
Very sad, but you had no option you would never have been able to save these books. Water and paper do not mix!
Oh, this is so sad. I feel so badly about your books and badly about the suffering you are enduring because you loved your books. Neruda has definitely put your pain into words.
Hayyy, you’re right Blooey! This is all so sad. :(
Sorry about your books Blooey. :(
oh man RIP booksm I feel your pain blooey
@Jo – I know, all those BM points and bargain bin purchases…
@Michell- Hopefully I can find them all again in the future
@Tina- No prob. I have a habit of keeping spare copies of titles I like, I might have a book that’s in your list.
@Lindylou- *sniff* they really don’t!
@Tea- I’d been in search for a verse that captured my feelings exactly, and my copy of Ode to Common Things fell on my lap as I was rearranging shelves
@Marie and Ruby- the Flippers make a great support group :)
@Mar- I’m glad the books you sent me are stored safely upstairs :)
I’m sure these books will come back to you over time, and at least you didn’t lose your entire collection, like some people did! I saw Vreeland’s Luncheon of the Boating Party among the sad discards – that was a lovely read.
Iya, I know, I count myself lucky in spite of it all… That Vreeland I really wanted to read!
That’s awful. I’m so sorry. At least you didn’t lose all of them, and you can have fun getting new books at some point in the future.
Thanks Anna. I know I’m lucky. And yeah, when I get around to book hunting again, that should be fun :)
i condole.
Ihop – Thanks… Sad din the books donated for your workshops got wet. If you need to start a new collection, I have some books to give away :)
“Not only did they touch me,
or my hand touched them:
they were
so close
that they were a part
of my being,
they were so alive with me
that they lived half my life
and will die half my death.”
Those lines are so fitting. Books are like old friends and it can really hurt when you have to let them go. I preserve them for as long as I can, (My sister’s got a thermal binding machine) but when they can’t be repaired any more, I still keep them. That said, none of my books have ever been waterdamaged.
How many of your books did you lose?
Around 30-50 I think. One whole bottom shelf…. I can’t be sure, as I was out of the country for the duration of the cleanup and my mom already threw out a bunch of them before I could count.
Oh. My. God. :( This is so sad. It would have taken me years to get over this.
It was sad, although in the end, hunting down books to replace the ones that got destroyed was a lot of fun.