Hey there Bibliofriends,

It’s Top Ten Tuesday time again! TTT is a weekly, list-themed book prompt hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s theme was the top ten outrageous things I’ve done for the love of books.

Now there is no way I can think of ten outrageous things I’ve done for the love of books. Being an INFJ personality type I’m only really outrageous in my head as opposed to my actions. In fact, apart from one anecdote which I’ll be sharing with you below, I don’t think I have actually done anything that outrageous for the love of books.

Without bursting into a Cher song, if I could turn back time I probably would have been one of those people in fancy dress queuing up outside their local Waterstones at midnight waiting for the release of the latest Harry Potter…that would be pretty outrageous…

I once got my friend to rip off part of an open wallpaper roll in John Lewis so I could use it as a background for a Bookstagram theme, which consequently was never used. I was worried we’d be chased down by store assistants or the alarms would go off when we left with it but they didn’t. At the time that felt kind of outrageous…

But probably the most outrageous thing I’ve ever done for the love of books is that I stole a book. Confession time! Let me tell you a story…

Once upon a time, there was a young girl called The Biblioshelf. To save her from utter boredom during the long summer break, her friend invited her on holiday with two strangers whom she had never met before. They boarded a flying metal can (commonly known as an aeroplane) where they were packed into plasticky seats like tinned sardines. Less than two hours later they were heaving their suitcases up the steep, cobbled paths of Edinburgh.
By day the girl spent her time wandering alone around the city; taking Harry Potter tours, visiting the Palace of Holyrood, exploring the Castle and climbing Arthur’s Seat. When the darkness came, her friend and the strangers would take her to comedy events and shows which formed part of a festival called The Fringe. From the Underbelly to Cowgate, The Banshee Labyrinth to Stramash, they took The Biblioshelf from place to place making her watch shows where people would tell jokes or funny anecdotes. Afterwards they would wile away the midnight hours and end up in bars along the Royal Mile singing and dancing with yet more strangers and their guitars.
On one of these nights, whilst seeking a table in an upstairs mezzanine of a loud folk bar, The Biblioshelf felt a gravitational pull to a nook towards the rear of the bar. There, hidden in a gloomy, unlit alcove near a large squashy sofa was a grand bookcase which was filled from floor to ceiling with books. Sitting upon the sofa, the girl immediately began perusing the spines, her eyes taking in the riches before her. One such tome seemed to call out to her and she pulled it down from the shelf. The book was all about William Wallace, the famous Scottish Knight most notably played by Mel Gibson in the popular film Braveheart. Now that she held a little bit of Scottish history in the palms of her hands, she couldn’t bear to part with it. It would be the perfect souvenir and memento of her amazing trip.
Upon leaving the bar, before she even knew what she was doing, she slipped the book inside her coat. All night long she carried it around, tucked secretly away underneath the fabric. She kept the book hidden all of the way home, her friends not even noticing the crime that had taken place that evening right underneath their noses.

There you have it – not the most outrageous story you’ll ever hear and I’m sure I wasn’t the first or only person to take one of those books off that shelf from that bar. I honestly can’t even say why I did it but I still have that book about William Wallace sitting on my bookshelf at home. Every time I see it, it brings back extremely fond memories of a great trip to Edinburgh and is definitely the most outrageous thing I’ve ever done for the love of books.
P.S. – please don’t report me to Bibliostealers Anonymous!

What is the most outrageous thing you’ve ever done for the love of books? Share your stories in the comments or feel free to leave me a link to your blog.

T xx