Waterlogged by Donalyn Miller
As some of you know from Twitter, Facebook, and phone calls, our home flooded this week. We live in Texas, so this wasn’t a Sandy-related disaster. A water line burst while we weren’t home. Water flowed from room to room, soaking anything touching the floor—including curtains, rugs, and furniture. Worst hit was my book room. Because we can close the door and hide piles in there, the floor was covered with towers of books and journals. My husband, Don, begged me not to go in there, and I still haven’t. He and our son-in-law, Andrew, spent Halloween night wicking water off the floor and carrying out stacks of sodden paper. I sat in our damp bedroom closet—drying shoes and crying.
Talking with my co-workers the next day, one well-meaning friend said, “Wow. If you had kept all of those books on a Kindle, you would still have them. You should go digital.” Her remark shocked me. I own two Kindles and I have failed to bond with them. I know many people who own e-readers and find that the portability and convenience enhance their reading lives. For me, reading off a screen will never replace holding a book in my hand. I barely remember the books I read on my Kindle, and I don’t feel connected to the stories when I finish them.
I appreciate technology as much as anyone, but I don’t love my laptop as much as I love my old copy of Lord of the Rings. I like holding a paperback open across the bridge of my thumb. I like how new books smell different than old ones. I like poring over endpapers and maps. I like turning a book sideways to see how many pages I have left. I like our stuffed bookcases. Most of all, I like passing a book to a child or a friend. A digital book can never replace my paper books. Talking with our youngest daughter, Sarah, she feels the same way. Our books own us as much as we own them. Happily, our flood didn’t reach her bookshelves.
I still cannot go into my book room. I am not worried about what I will find. I am worried about what I won’t find. Each one of my lost books stands for a memory—an author I met, a languid afternoon spent reading, silly moments in my classroom, a beloved child who treasured the book. Until my books return, these memories remain unmoored, lost in my past without the books to call them up again. My books are more than possessions to me. Over the printed words, I scrawled my life’s story on those pages. I want my life back.
Our insurance company will replace all of the books they can. We are lucky. Many people lost their lives, their homes, and their businesses during the storm this week, and I look at our flood as an inconvenience more than anything else. While water reclamation specialists dry out our walls and rip out the wood floors, we must live at a nearby hotel. Don stops by the house several times a day to check on the restoration work and pick up anything we might need. Along with toiletries and clothes, I asked him to bring back my new copy of Ashtown Burials #2: The Drowned Vault. Safely wedged in a bookcase in our bedroom, the book escaped damage.
My life continues, and I need another book to house this chapter in my story.
** Help people who suffered during Superstorm Sandy by participating in the Kid Lit Cares auction on Kate Messner’s website. Auction proceeds will be donated to the Red Cross.
Donalyn Miller is a fourth grade teacher at Peterson Elementary in Fort Worth, TX. She is the author of The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child. Donalyn co-hosts the monthly Twitter chat, #titletalk (with Nerdy co-founder, Colby Sharp), and facilitates the Twitter reading initiative, #bookaday.
Nerdy Book Club 
This is a beautiful tribute to all that books mean to us and all we hope they will mean to our students. Thanks for sharing your passion and your loss. It made me smile to know how well-loved your books are.
My heart goes out to you, Donalyn. Thanks for sharing how important books can be. They are truly friends and treasures to those who are passionate about literacy.
Donalyn- I feel the same way about books verses books on an e-reader. I just can’t seem to switch over for all the reasons you mentioned. Thank you for sharing your love of books and what they mean to you.
just reading your description gave my fingers the feel of holding a book. Sarah’s opinion gives me hope that the next generation won’t lose that magical power of touch … so long as we connect them to thosecspecial treasures. Sending heartfelt wishes that you can recover them all.
We flooded two years ago but fortunately my books war all off the floor and weren’t harmed. My heart just hurts for you. I love my iPad and I read books on it, but nothing can replace a real book.
Thank you for writing this beautiful during this difficult time.
I agree with you … digital “Wuthering Heights” is not the same.
Oops … ” … this beautiful POST …”
This brought back a lot of memories. Like you, I lost a lot of books during hurricane Floyd back in 1999. I was in the process of changing schools, so many of my school books were at home in boxes on the floor of the basement. Because we had a sump pump, I considered my books safe, but the pump failed, and my books were damaged. If a book was just barely wet, I saved it, thinking that a wrinkled book is better than no book at all. I also understand your reaction to the Kindle comment. I own a Nook and have not really bonded with it. I still laugh when I think about the time I tore the house apart trying to find a Rick Riordan book to have him sign it. I knew that I had read it but couldn’t find it. Sadly, I found it on my Nook. I had forgotten that I had read it electronically. What’s more, I couldn’t get it signed! Since Floyd, our family has gone through two more hurricanes, Irene and now Sandy. Luckily, we did not take on water and my books are safe. But I was prepared to haul them up the stairs at the first sign of water in the basement. In the big picture of life, this does seem pretty small. Seeing what people have lost on the Jersey shore and in New York is absolutely heartbreaking. You will rebuild your collection, just as I did, and you will continue to treasure those books in a brand new way. Good luck with the clean up and with replacing your lost treasures.
Oh, Donalyn, I’m so sorry to hear about your books. This makes my heart ache and although this isn’t to the extent of what people are dealing with in the aftermath of Sandy, it’s still a great loss. I keep all of my most cherished, signed books on the top shelves of my bookcases and now I know exactly why. Each one is more than a book – like you say, each one is a memory.
And thank you for your mention of #KidLitCares.
Donalyn, I’ve been worried about you since I first heard about the flood. I’m glad that the insurance company will replace the books, but I’m sure it’s not going to be easy. I have, actually learned to like my Kindle app on my IPAD, but mostly because of the convenience. My husband certainly prefers it when I have just that to bring along instead of a large bag of books when we go away for a few days. But, still, what he doesn’t know is this. Every time I fall in love with a book on my Kindle I then HAVE to have a real copy of that book – for all the same reasons that you said. So, even though the Kindle books are a little cheaper, I’m paying more for most books. Vicious circle we readers live in! Good luck with all of the renovations!
I know exactly what you mean. Paper books transport me to different times in my life. I remember what I was reading during all those big moments. When I pick up one of those special books the memories come back. I am so sorry!
Donalyn, you’ve eloquently expressed what so many of us feel about our precious books. Thank you for sharing your heartfelt thoughts.
From one book-loving-friend to another, so sorry for the flood. And I’ve read two books on the iPad. They were great books but I missed the feel of a book. Definitely didn’t bond with them.
Donalyn, the whole process, from choosing a book to finishing it, I am thinking about who I would pass it on to. Sharing the physical book with a friend brings a whole other set of emotions to the story. I’ve lost a good friend, and I still know which books on my bookshelf were passed along from him. I’m glad to be able to see and touch those books. It’s amazing, when we think about the connections we have, not just to the author’s story, but to the paper book as well. Thank you for your thoughts and feelings on books.
totally agree with the above post! the joy of passing on a book is almost part of the whole experience. receiving a book that someone says, I thought of you when I was reading this, makes the book even more special.
Oh, friend, I feel your pain. Thank you for your loving tribute to the book lover in us all.
Dear Donalyn,
You have my deep sympathy. Our home is filled with books; books everywhere. They comfort as much as enliven, instruct, delight, I know. If you need new copies of books that you cannot locate via purchase, be sure to put the word out and I am sure you will get offers from those of us with multiple copies of one you would be lost without. I tell myself I will not buy more books, I should use the library, I tell myself I should get more on my Kindle apps for laptop and phone instead, but I cannot help myself. It is probably too late but I have found that if you take printer paper and put it between each page of a wet book, it helps…..truly, reach out and the book-lovers out there will respond to you.
I am so sorry. I know these words aren’t enough but I truly mean them. Judybooklady
Sorry to hear about your damaged home. Much love and prayers!
so sorry, for your loss. Precious books are right up there with lost photo albums. I am just in the middle of reading Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry. I wonder if reading real books with pages is another kind of art that we need to protect. I found many kindred spirits on the replies above. Take care of yourself as you grieve for lost pages. Hope you can feel the love sent your way.
Ellen
Donalyn, such a beautiful post! I am so sorry for your loss, can’t imagine. I also prefer an actual book to the ebook version. There’s something comforting about being able to actually see my books. My husband, on the other hand, became a true reader after I bought him a Kindle Fire. I do read books on my IPad occasionally, but if it’s a great one I’m always sorry I can’t share with a reading friend. Sorry again for this loss and boy, do you have a super caring husband.
Donalyn, I feel the same way about electronics….. Great, but not a book. You have my heartfelt sympathies. I will be looking through the well loved books in my classroom to send you a bit of well worn love. Life pressed into the pages. Hang in there.
I’m so sorry about the flood in your home and the damage to your books and book room. In regard to the e-readers, I couldn’t agree more! I’ve never bonded with my kindle, either! And, what’s more, I have noticed some students who come to me as non-readers being the ones carrying their kindles. Or worse, their Kindle Fires, with all the distractions of the Internet at their fingertips. It’s disheartening to me.
I too am a bookaholic. I so understand your aversion to kindle. I am sos orry for your losses of those beloved books. May you soon be able to return home.
Oh no!! So sorry to hear about your books (and your home). We fellow book nerds get it and feel for you. Take care.
Terrible news! I keep meaning to videotape or photograph my bookshelves so I’ll have a record for the insurance company in case of a disaster like this. Maybe today is the day to do it. And Kindles are fine, but my bookshelves of books are my favorite thing in my house except my family!
We, too, have a book room and cannot imagine the loss you are going through. You’re right. Many people have endured losses far worse than yours – homes, livelihoods, even loved ones. But, we bibliophiles get what you’re saying. Books are our companions and the loss of them is razor-sharp. E-readers are certainly convenient but can never replace the feel, smell, and look of a well-loved book. I hope your library returns to you one day and that you can move back into your home soon. Beautiful post!
Sending prayers and good wishes your way. I have benefited from you sharing your feelings and memories about books. Thanks for standing up for reading.
Your description of books reminded me of speech Ray Bradbury gave at a Florida technology conference years ago. The bond we have with paper and ink cannot be broken or washed out. Hoping things are put to rights soon.
Oh, Donalyn, I’m so sorry. I can relate, too. I had left boxes of cherished childhood books in the care of my parents, and they were somehow lost along the way as my parents moved a couple of times. I’m not sure exactly what happened, but when they sent me the ones that were left, I cried over the ones that were gone. I still see those gaps in my shelves. Glad that you have insurance, but it’s still going to be hard. The loss of anything that you love is a hard thing… Sending virtual hugs.
As always, you have perfectly articulated my feelings about print books. There just isn’t any comparison between a much-loved copy of (insert favorite title here) and a Kindle. I can only imagine your grief at the loss of your books. Hope you’re able to get home soon!
Donalynn, my heart is heavy at the news of your loss. I hope your current school family and your students are taking good care of you during this challenging season. Thank you for sharing your experience, strength, and hope with the world. We need book champions like you in our lives!
My sympathies. So many lost books in all our lives. Just think of the new books you’ll be buying though. (I know, doesn’t replace the old, but they do start a new chapter.)
I was going to comment on this when you posted it but I got busy and time got away. I am sorry that you had damage to your home and books, but glad you and your family are ok. I have not lost my books like you have but my books are all back in storage while I am overseas. Although the Kindle has been a lifesaver so that I can get books to read in English, I still buy English books any chance I get. I miss my books but I have a hard time buying them on the Kindle if I already own them. Sometimes it is a real struggle if I want to read a book again. I try to find friends that have them or check them out from my library back home on my Kindle. I did finally cave and bought a book that up until I moved overseas I read every year on my birthday, but it is still not the same as holding the book my grandma gave me as I read it on my birthday.