海角大神

Today marks the beginning of Lent, a time when, for the next 40 days, some 海角大神s give up a small pleasure 鈥� such as chocolate or cake 鈥� as a way to strengthen spiritual resolve. But what about giving up new books for Lent? The idea comes from author Susan Hill, who once went for a whole year 鈥� not just 40 days 鈥� without buying new books for her home library. 聽Hill, best known for the novel, 鈥淭he Woman in Black,鈥� tells the story of her year without new books in 鈥淗owards End is on the Landing,鈥� a 2009 memoir that just entered my house 鈥� yes, as a new book 鈥� when I got a copy for my birthday.

The title of Hill鈥檚 book was inspired by an autumn afternoon when she went looking for 鈥淗owards End鈥� in her sprawling home library 鈥� not finding it at first, but coming across all sorts of other volumes on her shelves that she had never read, or forgotten she鈥檇 owned, or wanted to read for a second time.聽 Those discoveries prompted a plan: For the next 12 months, Hill would add no new books to her house, focusing instead on reading 鈥� or rereading 鈥� the books she already owned.

鈥淪ome people give up drink for January or chocolate for Lent, others decide to live for a year on just a pound a day, or without buying new clothes,鈥� says Hill, an English writer who lives in the North Cotswolds. 鈥淚 decided to spend a year reading only books already on my shelves....鈥�

Hill concedes the contradiction of an author 鈥� whose livelihood depends on people buying new books 鈥� swearing off new books for a year. 鈥淏ut this was a personal journey, not a mission,鈥� she adds. 鈥淚 felt the need to get to know my own books again.... I wanted to repossess my books, to explore what I had accumulated over a lifetime of reading, and to map this house of many volumes.鈥�

Among the unread books Hill found on her shelves were Tom Wolfe鈥檚 鈥淏onfire of the Vanities,鈥� Thomas Mann鈥檚 鈥淏uddenbrooks,鈥� George Eliot鈥檚 鈥淩omola鈥� and Antoine de Saint-Exup茅ry鈥檚 聽鈥淭he Little Prince.鈥� It鈥檚 impossible to read 鈥淗owards End is on the Landing鈥� without thinking of the unread books on your own shelves 鈥� perhaps enough reading to last 40 days, or even 40 years. 聽聽聽聽聽聽

Danny Heitman, a columnist for The Advocate, is the author of 鈥淎 Summer of Birds: John James Audubon at Oakley House.鈥�