Leaning over the kitchen counter, I pulled out the next book in the stack from the cardboard box. Chateau of Secrets. This novel was one of many books in one of many boxes to enter and exit my home for nearly as long as I can remember. Scattered across the United States, my mom, her three older sisters, and my grandma sent each other books by Media Mail. Often thrillers, short story collections, and historical fiction, they regularly boasted stickers announcing their purchase from 1/2 Price Books or Book World. Even more proudly than the discount price stickers, each of these books eventually wore penciled initials in their front matter.
These initials were my family's tracking system. The initials of each woman indicated who had read the book. This way after each was finished with the book and ready to pass it along, they knew who had yet to read it. Whoever wrote their name first would receive the book back after the rest had read it. This was, and still is, practical record-keeping. Yet their initials also distinguished each book they shared from any other volume of that same book. They created their own history of reading.
Looking back now, I can't remember if I always knew this was special, or I assumed it was an entirely normal practice. But when I finally joined in and started reading these books my family was exchanging, I did not simply inherit the worlds and perspectives of the printed story. Helping to unpack these boxes and read all of the narratives they contained brought me into a larger narrative. Fittingly enough, Chateau of Secrets tells a dual narrative of family members.
After my mom and aunts finished reading this book, I asked if I could keep it. Thinking back to when my Aunt Esther sent me up to her room to get it out from her book pantry, I realized that in reading this book, I am really enjoying a triple narrative. The novel, along with the narrative of my family's reading. The ink, with the pencil marks! Chateau of Secrets now lives on a bookshelf in San Diego. I just realized I've not yet put my own initials on it. I suppose that will need to change before I pass it along to the next reader.
by Anastasia Armendariz, A Library of One's Own
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