Books vs Jewellery

There are vices and vices, weaknesses and weaknesses. Some are more harming than others. Some are more expensive than others.
Ever since my childhood I was fascinated by books. I was in love with them. I was addicted, unable to resist their call. I only slowed down a bit in Toronto when I realized with sadness that I had turned from an avid reader into an avid book collector. And that was useless.
The purpose of a book is to give you joy; for you to enjoy its feel in your hands; to lure you to foreign distant places; to take you away into fairylands and phantasy trips; to teach you history and sciences; to explain things and make you want to discover more; to please your eyes and stimulate your imagination. And a lot more than just that.
But books are heavy. Books are not light and small things you can easily pack. Moving with lots of books can be a pain, as I've learned over the years. As a traveller, especially, you want to minimize your load as much as possible. This is when books can become really expensive. Sometimes I wish I liked jewellery. Life would be so much simpler. I could stuff my fleece pockets with all my jewellery and go travel the world ultra-light.

Currently I have a hard time to say good-bye to my China companion, ie Theroux book. Though it's in shambles. And I've seen a few more books I'd like to read. I have entered every single bookstore I passed by in Hong Kong. A dozen or more. I was doing it with a purpose, looking for a guide-book for Cairo. But I ended up spending a lot of time inside under their spell. And I resisted Rick Ridgeway's account of his travels in Eastern Africa from Kilimandjaro to the ocean, Bill Bryson's "A Short History of Nearly Everything", gorgeous photo albums of the Great Wall and many many more.
I looked at children books and I hardly resisted those, too. I love in particular the ones containing sketches, aquarells and witty interesting stories about places. They are for children but not exclusively. Believe me, if I managed to keep in mind all the information my book about Paris has along its beautiful pictures I'd be more than happy. There are a few of these books on Hong Kong, as well.
Eventually I found my Cairo guide, yet I did not stop entering the bookstores. There is only one thought that consolates me: if I were to enter every single jewellery store here, I'd spend the next few years in Hong Kong. As it stands I'm looking forward to exploring the bookstores in Cairo and the rest of Africa.