I had the occasion to vist Traveler's Rest here in Nashville last week. It was the home of one of the founders of Nashville, Col. John Overton. A very good tour--full of little tidbits about the Civil War and visitors to the Overton home over the years. Overton was a very good friend of Andrew Jackson and his picture is in virtually every room. The home is several miles away from Peach Orchard Hill where one of the decisive battles was fought in the Battle of Nashville. It is also famous for its peach brandy which was served to all guests.
As I visit these homes, like the nerd I am, I always enjoy looking at the bookcases to see what the family was reading in the 1800's. Overton seems to have been a wide reader--his home has more books than any I have seen. He had Don Quixote, The Poems of Alexander Pope, and Gibbons' Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire. As I have seen in the other homes, there also many volumes about agriculture.
What will future visitors see in my home (this is just for fun--I will not be remembered historically) in 2200? Well, for poetry, I guess they will see my volumes of Robert Frost and Emily Dickinson. In history, they will see
David McCullough's 1776 and John Adams, History of the Alamo, and Catclaw Country, a history of the Abilene, Texas area. As for fiction, they might find a little Dickens, The Shack, some mysteries and To Kill A
Mockingbird. And unlike Overton, there would several shelves of devotional and inspirational literature and several books on reading and writing. And too--lots of children's books.
One can tell a lot about a person from looking at what that person reads or doesn't read. What do your books say about you?
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