Three Ways Good Friends are Like Good Books.

Do you have a preference between spending time with a friend versus spending time with a book? Same thing, you say? Yeah, sometimes the line between the two can get a little blurry. I’m not talking about just any friend or any random book . . . but certain ones. Special ones.

I know you know what I mean, so I’ll get to the point.

Top three ways that friends can be like books (or is it that books are like friends?). You decide.

*Hint: Them/they=friend/book

1. When you haven’t seen them in awhile, it’s easy to pick up right where you left off. You know you’re kindred spirits when there’s no awkward silence, even when no one is talking. You know you’re kindred spirits when the pages fall open right to your favorite part of the story.
2. No matter how long you’ve known each other, they look better each time you see them. Familiar laughter shared over coffee makes life a little more bearable. Familiar words read over coffee makes life a little more bearable too 🙂
3. When a good friend buys you a good book, you know they get you. When a book becomes a good friend, it’s because you really get it.

All this leads to a rather sappy climax. I’ve been blessed with several friends of this sort (and, of

course, I have a stash of favorite books as well). This post was inspired by one of these friends in particular.

I’ll call her Amy. Which makes perfect sense because that’s her name 😉 Though Amy and I no longer live remotely close to one another, we’re the kind of friends that are like a favorite book (see reasons above).

 

This past year, Amy traveled with her family to the U.K. for a whirlwind tour of England and France. While there, she visited the fabulously famous “Shakespeare and Company” bookstore and bought me a very special book.

It’s always nice to be thought about by others while they’re on holiday (a little UK slang for the occasion). A keychain or bookmark is a lovely gesture which I always appreciate.

But a hand selected, well-thought out gem of a book from Paris? Well, that’s just over the top bestie friendship right there! And, as you can see, worthy of inspiring an entire blog post just so I could show off my friend and my book.

Thank you, Amy, for a friendship better than fiction. I’m glad that what we have is a true-story. Our story. With memories, both old and new, worth revisiting like a good book.

I’ll leave you with a peek at how our friendship has been passed on to the next generation. There are not enough wonderful words in the English language to describe the joy this brings me. Though Amy’s and my kids didn’t meet until they were teenagers, they were instant friends (Amy and I didn’t meet until we were 18 ourselves). It came full circle on our recent family visit when our two youngest collaborated on a song together (there may have been bribery involved. I cannot confirm or deny).

What characteristics do you find that friends and books can share? Do you prefer one over the other? Be honest, now! Your secret’s safe with me. As long as your friends don’t read this blog 🙂