Own a book? Not so simple

I live in a rich country, but I was born in a poor one.

- 

In between, I have worked and lived in countries rich and poor alike. Maybe this colours my view. Surely it colours my view on books which are cheap and plentiful in rich countries and are often pricey and less easily accessible in poorer lands.

Books have always meant a lot to me. They were my passport to a brighter, more beautiful world. They told me charming stories and offered me mind-boggling ideas. The pettiness and squalor of daily life evaporated. I could set my heart on the glory of a mysterious universe, heart-throbbing princesses, strange and scintillating concepts that illumined the dust my shoes scattered.

But books cost money to buy, and I had none. Libraries were few and not easily accessible.

I misstated my age to join one library; I lied about my credentials to enter another. The Russians didn't observe Western copyright rules those days, and I could buy Tolstoy and Turgenev, even Graham Greene, on the street for pennies. The few books I acquired, I guarded with my life. Those were my pearls and diamonds.