When the Book Chooses You

I look at photographs a lot because they help me remember what has happened. There are many things photographs don't say, but they usually spark some little thing in my mind, some thought or emotion. This happened recently, looking at a picture in Florida, myself on the balcony, one leg out lazily in front, nursing Jan Morris's book on Spain. The book was great at the time, even though it's out of print, and it helped me imagine all the things that would soon be true.

I unintentionally took a similar photo one afternoon on the beach in Cádiz. I sat in the same position, watching seagulls stumble around and float with the wind, and Jan Morris's Spain wasn't in my hands but all around me. I felt it in between my toes and buzzing around my head and I saw it in the wooden boats off in the distance. Sometimes books really do that cliche thing and come to life.