Scaling the Stack

I reached the base of that book stack and locked both hands onto the bottom spine. The paper was slick, but I braced my boots against the floor and pulled hard. Each book was a steep ledge, twice my height, but I kept my grip tight and scrambled up level by level. By the time I hauled myself onto the dark leather cover of the top volume, the whole room stretched out below me under the lamplight. My joints are warm and working smoothly now. This is a solid vantage point to plan my next move.