May favourite CS Lewis book: The Screwtape Letters
Have you ever thought about the first book you read?
As a child I remember those Katzenjammer comics bought from a second hand store in Bangkal or the Lady Bird books about the three billy goat gruff or even the book my grandfather gave me.
A few days ago I discovered the first CS Lewis book I read. The first time I read this book was when I borrowed it from the British Council. At that time the British Council's library was located in New Manila. And it was just a jeepney ride from our house.
Going to a library in order to read and borrow books is a better alternative than buying, especially if you do not have the financial resources to buy books one likes to own. Another plus factor was that the library had a powerful and fully functional air-conditioner. A plus item in any building in the tropics in our time.
In this library I discovered the works of CS Lewis, Frank Herbert, Agatha Christie and a host of other writers. Most of the books they had were hardbound, the big books. These were the books that would be selling for over a thousand pesos today. No all were available for borrowing. Some were reserve books, meaning the library user can browse the book but cannot take it out. I used to came back again and again to browse the Tolkien bestiary or Father Christmas Letters.
And here in that library I read my first book from CS Lewis, however, it was not the Narnia books or the Silent Planet Science Fiction trilogy. My first book was a compilation of letters written by a Devil to his nephew-devil about how to turn a man to sin. The title of the compilation is "The Screwtape Letters". It is Lewis at his cynical and satyrical best.
A few years after a friend of mine gave me a copy of the book for my birthday. And this was the book I rediscovered. It occupies a special niche in my collection of books, sitting alonside my favourite books from Tolkien, Joaquin, Lovecraft and others.
As I type in the last words to this post I glance at the book and thumbing and opening its pages I discover the price of the book. It was bought for 59 pesos. Despite its condition and my predilection today for hardbound books I still like my worn out book of letters written by Screwtape to his nephew Wormwood.
And I close with this quotation on page five:
"The devil. . . the prowde spirite. . . cannot endured to be mocked." - Thomas Moore
Go Back to Harvard Street Cubao
As a child I remember those Katzenjammer comics bought from a second hand store in Bangkal or the Lady Bird books about the three billy goat gruff or even the book my grandfather gave me.
A few days ago I discovered the first CS Lewis book I read. The first time I read this book was when I borrowed it from the British Council. At that time the British Council's library was located in New Manila. And it was just a jeepney ride from our house.
Going to a library in order to read and borrow books is a better alternative than buying, especially if you do not have the financial resources to buy books one likes to own. Another plus factor was that the library had a powerful and fully functional air-conditioner. A plus item in any building in the tropics in our time.
In this library I discovered the works of CS Lewis, Frank Herbert, Agatha Christie and a host of other writers. Most of the books they had were hardbound, the big books. These were the books that would be selling for over a thousand pesos today. No all were available for borrowing. Some were reserve books, meaning the library user can browse the book but cannot take it out. I used to came back again and again to browse the Tolkien bestiary or Father Christmas Letters.
And here in that library I read my first book from CS Lewis, however, it was not the Narnia books or the Silent Planet Science Fiction trilogy. My first book was a compilation of letters written by a Devil to his nephew-devil about how to turn a man to sin. The title of the compilation is "The Screwtape Letters". It is Lewis at his cynical and satyrical best.
A few years after a friend of mine gave me a copy of the book for my birthday. And this was the book I rediscovered. It occupies a special niche in my collection of books, sitting alonside my favourite books from Tolkien, Joaquin, Lovecraft and others.
As I type in the last words to this post I glance at the book and thumbing and opening its pages I discover the price of the book. It was bought for 59 pesos. Despite its condition and my predilection today for hardbound books I still like my worn out book of letters written by Screwtape to his nephew Wormwood.
And I close with this quotation on page five:
"The devil. . . the prowde spirite. . . cannot endured to be mocked." - Thomas Moore
posted by juned at 15:23
5 Comments:
juned, you got a rare one there!
i got my copy of that book from a second hand bookstore here in cebu. i can't remember the price though, but i would guess it was pretty cheap.
i like the book, especially because it's about moral values, understanding temptation and sin, etc., but i can't seem to finish it. sometimes i find it hard to read...
Eruannie - Thanks. Rare or not I like it. It comes with Screwtape proposes a toast.
Dante - Thanks. Its the type of book that requires some digestion and savoring.
I have been looking for one! ACK! I envy you!
I think I saw one at a different book store. Try checking it out :)
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