My father had a collection of hard-bound classics in his library that would impress Ron Burgundy. The complete works of Charles Dickens, Plato, Socrates, Miguel de Cervantes, Carl Sandburg鈥檚 four-volume biography of Lincoln. They were so immaculately preserved, I can only assume Dad handled them, literally, with white gloves.

As best I can remember, my mother, in contrast, owned only a few 鈥渋mportant鈥 books, and unlike everything else in our home, some of them were a mess. One in particular stands out in my memory, anyway: Pages stained with Crisco grease and gritty flour residue, handwritten additions scrawled in the outer margins, used envelopes with scribbled notes tucked randomly throughout.

Robert Price is an Emmy-winning reporter for KGET-TV. His column appears here Sundays; the views expressed are his own. Reach him at rprice661@gmail.com or via Twitter: @stubblebuzz.