【本棚をのぞく②】同志社生編　Let me see your bookshelf!

Hi, this is haggy, a weirdo who enters friend’s room and deeply stares at bookshelf.

As I explained on the last article, I really like watching someone’s bookshelf. This is because a bookshelf shows the preference or even personality of its owner. Whether there is a book that I have read before or not, books have a power to create subjects between us.

One of my friends, Anne ( a member of Doshisha Post) is an avid reader. She reads a various kinds of books from children books to historical novels. I was eager to watch her bookshelf. This time, I conducted an interview about her bookshelf. 

【Interview】

Anneさんにインタビュー

H：So, I appreciate your acceptance of this interview. The reason that I wanted to see your bookshelf is because I knew that you are an avid reader. Such as 『Ryoma ga yuku』（竜馬がゆく）written by Ryotaro Shiba (司馬遼太郎）, I was surprised to know that you read historical novels to foreign literatures. But more surprising point is that you basically do NOT buy books. This is a fact which uproot this project from the foundation though!.

Could you tell me why you do not buy books?

【早くも企画終了？本は買わない派】

A：Yes. well, I don’t have specific reasons for this. Simply because it takes much space to hold books in a room and I just do not want to spend money for books that I read only once. So I just keep my favorite books that I want to repeat again.

H：Okey! it’s understandable for an avid reader like you to do so. Are there any favorite books that you actually bought?A：Yes. The series of 『Anne of Green Gables』（赤毛のアン）and the series of 『Wild Animals I Have Known』(シートン動物記). I bought these books with what little money I had when I was in an elementary school.H：You loved reading when you are so young! In your bookshelf, I see a lot of foreign books like 『Anne of Gwen Gables』. Is there a reason for this?

【海外児童文学の魅力とは】

A：hmm, I guess I did not have any reason that I like these kinds of books. My mother recommended them. Also, I don’t have images of Japanese children’s books.

 As my impression of these two series, I really liked Anne(the character) in this series and she used to be my role-model. 『Wild Animals I Have Known』is a work that I could be empathetic to animals because each stories have main animals and the story goes from their viewpoints. The relationship between people and animals was actually severe but also gentle and nice.

 H：You were influenced by your mother. I didn’t know such fascinating books.By the way, are there any favorite books that you didn’t keep in your bookshelf?A：Yes. It was『Tokio』(時生) written by Keigo Higashino(東野圭吾) . The title was impressive for me. I also remember『ZOO』written by Otsuichi(乙一) , horror short stories were very new to me. By the way, would you like to see my reading record?H：Oh, please let me see it.

A：I think I was reading in a commuting time but that time became studying time after a high school study started.

H：Yes, the entrance examination season changes a lot, right?      This is the last question: what does reading mean to you?

【あなたにとって読書とは、何ですか】

A：Reading is an entertainment for me. I could not watch TV and games when I was little, so reading was the only thing that entertained me. Eluding parents observations, I was immersed in books. 

　So reading is just a pastime. I feel that I can gain a new vision, sensibility and perspective through reading books but I do not want to   regard reading as a study. Of course I understand that reading is part of a study but personally I want to cherish and never forget the sense of entertainment of reading.

＊Anneさんありがとうございました！

Thank you Anne for giving me a chance to interviewing you. In particular, I was really impressed with your line “Reading is an entertainment for me.”. I’m glad to know the other’s passion for reading. This series “Let Me See Your Bookshelf “ is going to be continued. See you next time!

(HAGIMON)