The books of the shipwreck | leonotic

He found, three moves and several lives later, more remains of that shipwreck. Some clothes, a wallet, the Russian crucifix, a couple of very long letters and many books. They had the precious habit of giving one to each of the important dates, a tradition that after a thousand years still made him smile.

For every occasion, for birthdays, for Christmas, a dedicated book. And in each one, a bookmark and some mementos from those times: two cinema tickets, from an exhibition, a map drawn on a paper napkin with what the living room of the new house would have been like, some photos from the photo booth when everything was laughing. , the card of the restaurant where they celebrated…

When he left home, the white bookcase of his office continued to keep the bookish traces of that beautiful story of immense love. Above, a little of everything; Below, in order not to find them treacherously, there are the forty-eight books that he painstakingly searched for her. The date, the dedication, some already indecipherable drawings. Forty-eight dedications on the titles of novels, photographs, short stories, poems, short stories… Forty-eight memories that on a tiny scale confirm how long they lived, how much they loved each other, how lucky they were to have shared so much.

For her, as for us who love books, there has never been a better gift than continuing to expand the library, ours or that of others. I suppose that all readers have a series of titles that occupy a priority area, the one we turn to to re-read the stories that have marked us throughout our lives. The books that touched us deeply, the ones someone special gave us, the ones we bought in that unforgettable summer… Books to live other lives, books to remember. Books to escape, to escape sadness or boredom, to dream of adventures that have nothing to do with our routine, or look too much like it. Books that inspire you ideas, for you to see that beans are cooked everywhere, to indicate unmissable clues of places you would like to visit.

A couple of years ago, in the midst of a pandemic, he decided it was time to get his hands on the memories of other lives. He checked drawers and shelves, filled four boxes with souvenirs and useless objects, leafed through photo albums, smeared the mucus and wanted to consider the past stages resolved. To many, at the end of the catharsis, distracting sad thoughts that intertwined with other wonderful ones, he lay down on the sofa to deceive his insomnia by keeping an eye on social media. By chance, or maybe not, he found an exciting initiative on Twitter, a very cool project that recruited volunteers to send books -always dedicated- to women held in various Spanish prisons (www.alasolvidadas.org).

The following weekend, he spent a morning choosing some of the books that had made him so happy years ago. Not the ones he no longer wanted, nor any of his 48 jewels, only books that could also mark their recipient. He bought three more (his he essentials from Marías, Sábato and Marai) and jotted down ideas to write in each dedication in a notebook. He told us about the initiative and several friends did the same. We get together, have a few laughs writing impromptu, saccharine, sincere dedications. We filled a box with books and, excited, sent it to its destination. In the next call we’ll do the same, we’ll try to bring some joy to those who have so much time to dwell on memories.

More than 8,000 dedicated books have reached women prisoners in 15 Spanish prisons, of which almost half a thousand in León prison.

Imagine their faces when they receive them, when they dive into those pages of stories, when they dream of other lives, when they feel that someone has taken a few minutes to buy – or retrieve from their shelves – and dedicate a special book that accompanies many rats in their captivity.

Soon they reactivate this project. Rejoice, look for an old book, buy the one that marked you the most, write a few lines with your heart. Save those women’s sorrows from shipwreck.