Thread: Book Hoarding
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Old 07-21-2017   #38
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Re: Book Hoarding

Quote Originally Posted by Robert Adam Gilmour View Post
Quote Originally Posted by Pan Michael View Post
To have a respectable library you do need some breadth as well as some reference material.
Does this really matter?

Couldn't you and Kevin write a will that specifies where the books will go after you're gone? Not sure how these things work.
Good question, but nobody wants these things. This ties in with an overall rejection of most material culture among millennial types, at least here in the U.S. We have furniture that is hundreds of years old and has stood the test of time. No interest among the relatives. I have Cormac McCarthy, Thomas Ligotti, and a bunch of other first editions. No interest among the relatives. In short, almost no interest at all in anything like this, all of which I've spend most of my lifetime accruing.

For centuries people accumulated good stuff on the assumption that those after them would want it, and in large part that proved to be true. But no longer. Aside from an (ironic?) interest in mid-20th century furnishings, 20 and 30-somethings have mostly rejected the past.

Which is not necessarily bad or good, but certainly an interesting phenomena. But as far as our discussion goes, it leaves me bereft. Most people don't read. When folks come to my house, they look right though the books, no questions, no interest, just like at Pan Michael's.

Well, I never bought Ligotti limited editions with an eye to who would get them after my death, and I suppose a harsh critic would ask why I would care. But the fact is, these things are wonderful and worthwhile in and of themselves, and the thought of some 60-something (formerly a kid) relative still playing video games while "I Have a Special Plan for this World" rots in a dump is a particularly irksome version.

Maybe that kid will get tired of his Ikea furniture falling apart after 5 years, and develop an interest in better things. Maybe. The game isn't over yet, but my pessimistic nature feels that, as usual, the Philistines will have the last laugh.

Assuming TLO is around decades from now (it will be, of course!) like Pan Michael I'll just post their availability and hope that someone who loves them will get them as I pass into nothingness.

Put your faith in God; he won't expect you.
Put your faith in death, because it's free.
If you believe in nothing, honey, it believes in you.
-Robyn Hitchcock
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gveranon (07-21-2017), miguel1984 (07-21-2017), Pan Michael (07-21-2017), qcrisp (07-21-2017), Robert Adam Gilmour (07-21-2017), waffles (07-21-2017), Zaharoff (07-21-2017)