We all have our favorite place in the house. People make us discover their favorite piece.
Reading has always been part of Chantal Roy’s life. Her precious books, she stored and carried them around in big wooden boxes for a long time. Then, one day, the purchase of a house finally allowed her to create the library of her dreams.
“When I moved here, alone with my son, I finally had the place I had hoped for to take my books out of their boxes,” recalls this young 60-year-old from Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu. “I was so happy that I bought the shelves on Kijiji before I even moved. »
The simple purchase of these bookcases in fact materialized a wish that had been postponed for a long time. Crates of apples, mounted one on top of the other, have long served her as shelves that she has placed where she can, always in fear that the humidity of a basement will damage books. Some of them even constitute his family heirloom.
When she separated from her second spouse – her first husband died very young – Ms. Roy set out to find a house where she could finally create the place of contemplation that had been desired for too long.
“But sometimes I just go and sit there without even reading a single page. It’s a place for me to rest,” adds the retired civil servant.
The piece created by Chantal Roy indeed invites contemplation and an inner journey. The 10 sections of its beautifully lit library are overflowing with novels, art books, comics. Classics such as Robinson Crusoe or Le vicomte de Bragelonne rub shoulders with the thrillers of John Grisham and Michael Connelly, or the complete bibliography of J.K. Rowling. The entire Marsupilami collection is thoughtfully placed on the bottom row for younger readers.
Exotic objects, beautifully displayed here and there, also promote escape to imaginary countries, as are the scale models of cars from the Tintin albums arranged in a glass display case.
No wonder, indeed, to learn that the library has an effect on visitors of all ages, especially Mrs. Roy’s granddaughters who rush there to get their hands on their favorite books and compete for exclusivity. of the oversized armchair placed very close to the window.
Because it is very rare, nowadays, to see such a space devoted to books in a house. But, in the spirit of Chantal Roy, this piece is commensurate with the place that reading has always occupied in her life. Even today, she drags one or two books in her bed before falling asleep, like when she was a child.
“When I was little, we didn’t go into houses to play with our friends,” recalls the woman from the Saint-Vincent-de-Paul district of Laval. “For example, if our friend was waiting because it was mealtime, we waited outside. To pass the time, I always sat somewhere to read. »
What was she reading? Small novels of his age, but also whole volumes of the collection “Je sais tout”, an illustrated French encyclopedic magazine intended for the family. “I was 10 at the time. These books made me discover the pleasure of learning about any subject, whether it was the sinking of the Titanic or the corset worn by women at the time. »
Her adolescence, marked by her father’s illness, was rocked by dark Victorian novels (Poe, Baudelaire, Brontë…) before she fell in love with scientific suspense à la Arthur Conan Doyle. It is no coincidence that Dan Brown’s entire body of work has carved out an enviable place on Madame Roy’s shelves today.
His library is not a mausoleum. Alive, it always evolves according to the finds of its owner in bookstores, family counters and book fairs. Near her home, the Saturday reading organization allows you to buy a bag full of books for $10, she points out.
“I have already bought a beautiful illustrated edition of The Lord of the Rings, in three bound volumes, for a dollar! Who could put this in the dump? “, protests this mother who knew how to transmit her love of literature to her two children.
Books always take up a lot of space at Chantal Roy. Far from being confined to the library, novels of all kinds and “easily replaceable” comics are spilling out into the basement and other storage. “I promise myself that if one day we move, the next library will be bigger. I could fit two chairs in there. No more competition for place! “, she commits.
