Kidnapped

Help! Help!!
They have been kidnapped!!
Somebody, please help! Will you??
Gosh! What do I do now??

Who have been kidnapped… you wonder!!

Nah, not any friends, nor any relatives…neither the neighbors nor any acquaintances!
(Please God, nobody should ever be kidnapped!! It’s the worst nightmare for the victim and his/her family!)

But still, some things have been kidnapped!

Well, they are BOOKS!
Prized possessions of every book lover.

The Fiction books, the Encyclopedias, the Cook books, the Non-Fiction books, the Health, Mind & Body books, Reference books, Management books, Children books…your best friends.
books-arent-dead1

These are the books which you buy from the big book stores, the flea market, the discount sales, airports, railway stations, and sometimes from bus stands too.  Some you get as presents and some you order from the web or through VPP.

And over a period of time, you have a collection of which you are very proud of.

And when you neatly arrange them category wise in your cupboard, they become a source of envy for every person who sees them. So, suddenly the latent desire to read books emerges very strongly in them.

And being a good person that you are or you genuinely want them to enjoy the rewarding experience of reading a good book or you want to encourage reading among your colleagues and friends…You LEND your books.

This is your biggest mistake… You have willingly let your books to be kidnapped!
Yeah, kidnapped.

Chances are that…

  • You may never get them back.
  • You may have to put in a lot of efforts to get them back…repeated calls…SMSs…subtle hints…
  • These efforts could continue for months altogether.
  • You may not get them in the same condition… a tear here or a dog ear there, the worn or shabby look as the book is kept face-down on its open pages and the most outrageous and obnoxious part is underlining of interesting/important part with a pen!!

But why this happens??
Well…

  • Their interest (in reading the book, of course) wane and thus the book just occupies some space in a drawer or shelf for months together.
  • They are not ardent book lovers and that urge to read (and borrow your book) was just  a passing fancy.
  • They are apathetic to books…

So, do you ever learn?

Well, despite umpteen ‘learnings’ and ‘experiences’, you have still not mastered the fine art of saying “NO”.

And in the mean time, you wait with bated breath for your beloved kidnapped books to return back to their space in your cupboard!

Image Courtesy :http://fncacademicadvising.files.wordpress.com

Tags: