by Peter Leavell, @PeterLeavell
An author’s tools are a powerful draw to the writing life, because they are so cool. Laptops, headphones, caffeine, and ragged t-shirt and sweatpants (as a gentleman, I write in a canvas grey jacket with white T shirt, faded jeans, Olukai Hawaiian shoes, and two-day stubble that I’ll shave soon).
But no tool is more essential than a writer’s library.
When a famous writer dies, all her or his papers are quickly gathered and sent off to a prearranged university collection. But equally important, the books on the writer’s shelves are documented. Fans and fellow authors from the website LibraryThing.com research the list and post the titles so that others can read the same books on their favorite author’s shelf. These are called legacy libraries.
So, as a famous writer yourself, you MUST collect books and be the curator of your own personal library.
Here are 10 reasons why you should maintain a large library in your home.
1 —The covers remind you of the moments you shared with the story or information.
2 —A bookcase door opening to a secret room is the greatest architectural design ever built.
3 —The thoughts of dead humans are valuable, at your fingertips, and the more minds on a subject, the better.
4 —Inspiration by having physical books cannot be underestimated.
5 —In a matter of one second, a publisher can send an update and change words in a digital copy. Not so with your paper copies.
6 —Normalizing your career by surrounding yourself with books adds inspiration in your life.
7 —The feel, smell, and sight of a physical copy of a book gives tactile control of the information within and better retention.
8 —Those in your household and those who visit will be inspired to read.
9 —You’re going to hoard something. Hoard books.
10 —Giving away a copy of a book that meant something to you, a physical copy, is a deeply profound way to deepen a friendship. You must have many copies of your favorite books.
Philip Anderson keeps his past close to the vest. Haunted by the murder of his parents as they traveled West in their covered wagon, his many unanswered questions about that night still torment him.
His only desire is to live quietly on his homestead and raise horses. He meets Anna, a beautiful young woman with secrets of her own. Falling in love was not part of his plan. Can Philip tell her how he feels before it’s too late?
With Anna a pawn in the corrupt schemes brewing in the nearby Dakota town, Philip is forced to become a reluctant gunslinger. Will Philip’s uncannily trained horses and unsurpassed sharpshooting skills help him free Anna and find out what really happened to his family in the wilderness?
Peter Leavell, a 2007 graduate of Boise State University with a degree in history and currently enrolled in the University’s English Lit Graduate program, as well as History Graduate program, was the 2011 winner of Christian Writers Guild’s Operation First Novel contest, and 2013 Christian Retailing’s Best award for First-Time Author. An author, blogger, teacher, ghostwriter, jogger, biker, husband and father, Peter and his family live in Boise, Idaho. Learn more about Peter’s books, research, and family adventures at www.peterleavell.com