I have been going through my collection of books and trying to decide what to keep and what to give away. I am a little better parting with the non-fiction, but I find it difficult to say good-bye to the places I once roamed while reading the fictional creation of a talented author. I can still see the beaches from Treasure Island, smell the stench of streets in Tale of Two Cities, feel the empty confinement of On the Beach.

And, if the stories cannot sufficiently sustain their grasp on my soul, the books themselves seem to cry out for preservation. As I read the works of Hemmingway, I found notes scribbled in the margins by my grandfather decades ago, I smell the age of the yellowing pages and feel the worn bindings. Yes, I will keep this one.

Perhaps I will keep them all.  Maybe I will read them again one day.

The above image received Honorable Mention in the May 2019 from a Shift Art Fantasy Challenge. Shift Art promotes the creation of Digital Art.