A Sad Goodbye

books

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):

nasty!
nasty!
bled through and moldy
bled through and moldy
I did not even attempt to touch this...
I did not even attempt to touch this...
Edgar Allan Poe's bad luck still hasn't run out
Edgar Allan Poe's bad luck still hasn't run out
and another one bites the dust
and another one bites the dust
melded shut.
melded shut.
*groan* why, why did I stock all three Umberto Ecos in that shelf?!?
*groan* why, why did I stock all three Umberto Ecos in that shelf?!?
punctured
punctured
spreading horror
spreading horror
malleable sogginess
malleable sogginess
heartbreaking.
heartbreaking.

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.

25 thoughts on “A Sad Goodbye”

  1. 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. ^^;

  2. 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.

  3. @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.

  4. @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

  5. @Marie and Ruby- the Flippers make a great support group :)

    @Mar- I’m glad the books you sent me are stored safely upstairs :)

  6. 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.

  7. 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 :)

  8. “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?

    1. 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.

  9. Pingback: Bookish Blackout!
    1. It was sad, although in the end, hunting down books to replace the ones that got destroyed was a lot of fun.

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