20080604

books - where what & how

Funny that today I should find Luc Sante's "The Book Collection That Devoured My Life" having just started a book purchased long ago but unpacked only last week - Nicholas Basbanes' A Gentle Madness: Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes, and the Eternal Passion for Books. What do we do with all those books...a questions not fully fathomed until you've moved into your beloved's family home (a row house in DC - see photo) and discover it already full of three generations of stuff belonging to those who've moved on (to wherever comes next or my by moving beyond the District) - all including the deceased continue to receive mail. There are elegant solutions even if not do-able at the moment because of repairs needed/lack of space/et cetera. It is still fun to visualize. I already had some 300 books by the time I was a sophomore in college. And I'm the interloper here surrounded by things not mine to toss. So while not a collector in the obessessed-possessed way, I do love my books. And have missed them much since some have been boxed for years now. Now back to trying to find places to put them when there's no room...