Give me books, says the sultan

When a dignitary is invited as guest-of-honour to some big event, he would without fail be presented with some memento as a token of appreciation for his presence. I have been to a number of such functions and I have often wondered what happens to the memento afterwards. Of course, that would depend on the memento given but I have no doubt that if it's yet another pewter plate, plaque or some meaningless item in a glass case, it will be designated to a dark corner in the store-room. What a waste of money!

The Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, is one dignitary who is invited to more events than he can ever remember and his store-room must be filled to the ceiling with items that he has no use for whatsoever. It was refreshing to read in a local newspaper recently that he is requesting organisers to give him books instead of expensive presents. Obviously keen on recycling, His Highness said that after reading the books, he will pass them on to the public library.

I'm a firm believer in giving books as presents. Ask my nieces - they never had to guess very hard what were inside the nicely wrapped packages they got on their birthdays. And now I've started to give books as wedding presents as well; my favourite set for a newly-married Muslim couple is The Muslim Family Series comprising four books that cover the whole spectrum of family life, from the wedding to the spouses' rights and obligations, to marital intimacy and to Islamic regulations for newborns.

What better way to start a new life together than with the right knowledge according to the Quran and Sunnah? My Auntie Chom tells me that she has been giving my book Hajj - the Humbling Journey, co-written with Yasmin Gan Abdullah, for weddings.

As I've posted earlier, I love books, which means I love buying them. I can't resist bookshops and can happily spend hours in them. More often than not, I'd leave with a book or two. But there comes a point when my shelves just can't take any more.

One of my bookshelves

And I still have books waiting to be read!

I will read them... eventually

So what do you do when you have lots of books but not enough shelf space for all of them? My answer is simple - give them away. I have this rule now. After reading a book, I ask myself if I would want to read it again. If I would, the book goes on my shelf; if not, I'd give it away. I started the ball rolling by going through my books a couple of months ago and ended up with quite a few boxes that went to Viva Palestina Malaysia for its fund-raising bazaars.

There are other ideas on what to do with your books if you don't want to keep them, which can wait for another time. 

"No man can be called friendless who has God and the companionship of good books." 

- Elizabeth Barrett Browning