A light-hearted question for today inspired by a recent post of Frances's in which she talks about a book which had caught her eye in a shop and which she'd then seen referred to in several magazines. It had obviously taken her fancy, though she hadn't made the decision to buy it, and Frances goes on, "I was still curious. So when a copy found its way to me recently via a friend who thought I might enjoy it but knew none of this background, I was confident in another one of my freaky beliefs that a book had found me".
I love this slightly fey notion that books might 'find' their readers, that some serendipity occurs to fulfil a desire, that somehow the 'right' book comes to hand by chance. Has this ever happened to you?
I have a variation on this them in that I buy a book and it sits on my shelves for ages. Then one day, for no reason at all, I look at this book and decide now is the time to read it and I do. Cannot explain this. This week is a classic example of this. I took down a battered old copy, bought in a second hand bookshop, of My Autobiography by Anthony Trollope which I have had for at least five years, sat down and read it straight through totally enthralled.
I am sure this has happened to others as well. Hasn't it??
Posted by: Elaine | 07 June 2011 at 10:49 AM
I've had a copy of The Quincunx by Charles Palliser on the shelf for years; it came up in a comment the other day, and now I want to read it a.s.a.p.!
Posted by: Cornflower | 07 June 2011 at 11:53 AM
My books are all inanimate and thus can't "find" anyone. My answer is a resounding no.
Posted by: Dark Puss | 07 June 2011 at 12:00 PM
No chance finds? No serendipitous gifts?
Posted by: Cornflower | 07 June 2011 at 12:09 PM
Chance finds are not the book's doing! Actually I'm not sure I can think of any that I'd put into that category, they always seem to require a lot of relatively structured searching in shops on my part. Serendipitous gifts are due to the insights and thoughfulness of the kind person giving it to me and not any "magic" on behalf of the book.
Posted by: Dark Puss | 07 June 2011 at 12:20 PM
I think you've taken my question too literally, DP! I don't think Frances actually meant that the book is the active body here, but what I had in mind was more like when you're thinking about a person and you suddenly bump into them, and not in a place you'd usually see them. Coincidence. Perhaps you've been seeking an out-of-print book and just happened to find a copy at the school fair or similar, or were given it as a gift (when you hadn't made your wishes known in advance), or maybe you picked up a discarded book on a train and it turned out to be the best thing you'd read. Your own policy of library browsing and trying books you know nothing about, choosing things almost 'blindfold', as it were, seems to me to border on this - chance playing a big part in determining what you read, not always successfully, but with good enough results to continue doing it in that way.
Posted by: Cornflower | 07 June 2011 at 12:35 PM
I was of course being very literal in my answer, but I certainly don't subscribe to her view that I was confident in another one of my freaky beliefs that a book had found me. When I borrow randomly, quite a lot of the time the book goes back after I have read 20 pages, sometimes the book is to my taste, often the book is an OK read and nothing more. In what sense does that support the hypothesis?
I borrow randomly primarily to ensure that my tastes are challenged and that I'm not confining my reading purely to books that I have a hunch I will like, or that friends and reviewiers whose views I regard highly in literary matters have recommended to me.
Posted by: Dark Puss | 07 June 2011 at 01:22 PM
Dark Puss has a scientific mind and could probably write an equation that would give me the mathematical probability.
But I'm often delighted at finding a slightly obscure book that's been on my mind when I'm rummaging in charity shops. (On Saturday it was pristine copy of Gissing's Odd Women which I've been wanting to read for ages.)
But Puss would say that's Oxfam donations/visits ± house clearances x (mortality rate of elderly academics) expressed as fraction of local population.
Or something like that? Come on Puss...
In other words some charity shops are better worth a visit than others!
Posted by: m | 07 June 2011 at 02:02 PM
It has sort-of happened to me. I read a book by Leo Walmsley which I loved so much that I wanted to read his others that were set in Bramblewick - aka Robin Hood's Bay on the Yorkshire coast which is one of my favourite places.
Unfortunately the library reserves only had the book I had read, most of the others were out of print and second hand prices on-line were far higher than I allow myself to pay, so I resigned myself to not reading them any time soon.
A week or so later I had time to kill so I went into a charity shop that I rarely visit and there, hiding in box of old hardbacks and priced at 50p was one of the Walmsley books!
Posted by: LizF | 07 June 2011 at 02:48 PM
Wonderful! I've just been to our nearest charity bookshop to drop off some books and of course I had a browse, too, but came away with nothing - no great finds for me today.
Posted by: Cornflower | 07 June 2011 at 03:10 PM
Now that's the shop I'd like to live near!
Posted by: m | 07 June 2011 at 04:43 PM
I seem to recall saying to DP some time ago that it was a scientist, Louis Pasteur, who pointed out that "Chance favours the prepared mind"!
Posted by: Barbara MacLeod | 07 June 2011 at 04:57 PM
You did indeed and with regard to experiments then I agree. I guess if I approached book "buying" (and you all know I don't anymore) in the same way as I approach experimental physics then maybe my success rate might be higher!
Posted by: Dark Puss | 07 June 2011 at 04:59 PM
I'll work on it ...
Posted by: Dark Puss | 07 June 2011 at 04:59 PM
I'll sure you'll come up with something of great mathematical elegance!
Posted by: m | 07 June 2011 at 07:39 PM