Book Hoarding

[qcrisp]

I have a problem with piles of books on my floor. At the weekend, I finally got round to plucking some books off my shelf and putting them in a box to store in the garage and filling the gaps with books from the floor. I won't say which books I put in the garage, partly because some of them were of living authors or had been gifts from the uninformed, and partly because I don't now remember, but it wasn't easy either to make the resolution in the first place or to choose the individual books.

[Robert Adam Gilmour]

When I was talking about a will, I didn't necessarily mean for family and friends but perhaps sympathetic dealers and shops who would be glad to have them. Or is posting a huge book collection for miles, or even across states beyond what you're allowed to instruct?

[Kevin]

Quote Originally Posted by Robert Adam Gilmour

When I was talking about a will, I didn't necessarily mean for family and friends but perhaps sympathetic dealers and shops who would be glad to have them. Or is posting a huge book collection for miles, or even across states beyond what you're allowed to instruct?

I don't know. That had not occurred to me. My emotion on this is to give something meaningful to someone meaningful, but if there is no interest then a sympathetic book dealer would be better than nothing. A warning to book dealers: Be good to me from now on!

[T.E. Grau]

Quote Originally Posted by Mr. Veech

I think the "problem" is that the type self-cultivation attained from reading "high" literature is simply too costly for most people. If I spend my time reading Dickens or Shakespeare (outside of a school environment), that means I can't spend that same time working longer hours, finding a potential mate, socializing, etc. A lot of people talk about how much it's important to read, but no one does because it is very, very expensive in terms of time management.

With my schedule, I have almost zero time to read more than a half hour or so a day. Hence, audiobooks have been a lifesaver.

Being trapped inside my car for three hours six days a week is now three hours six days a week that I spend "reading." I've absorbed dozens and dozens of books I simply would never have read - or prioritized to read, considering the "real" reading I do is mostly devoted to reading the work of colleagues for reviews, blurbs, genuine interest, etc. - by listening to audiobooks picked up at a number of local libraries.

It's allowed me to fill in all those gaps of renowned or "classic" literature that I never read back in school, or read so quickly for a class that I didn't fully retain the overall text.

Considering the thread topic, audiobooks don't really stack well on shelves, though.

[Mr. Veech]

Quote Originally Posted by T.E. Grau

Quote Originally Posted by Mr. Veech I think the "problem" is that the type self-cultivation attained from reading "high" literature is simply too costly for most people. If I spend my time reading Dickens or Shakespeare (outside of a school environment), that means I can't spend that same time working longer hours, finding a potential mate, socializing, etc. A lot of people talk about how much it's important to read, but no one does because it is very, very expensive in terms of time management. With my schedule, I have almost zero time to read more than a half hour or so a day. Hence, audiobooks have been a lifesaver. Being trapped inside my car for three hours six days a week is now three hours six days a week that I spend "reading." I've absorbed dozens and dozens of books I simply would never have read - or prioritized to read, considering the "real" reading I do is mostly devoted to reading the work of colleagues for reviews, blurbs, genuine interest, etc. - by listening to audiobooks picked up at a number of local libraries. It's allowed me to fill in all those gaps of renowned or "classic" literature that I never read back in school, or read so quickly for a class that I didn't fully retain the overall text. Considering the thread topic, audiobooks don't really stack well on shelves, though.

I actually overlooked the benefits of using audiobooks.

[T.E. Grau]

It seems weird at first, or like a cheat, or not fully experiencing the book in the proper way (and it probably is, as you don't get to run your eyes over the words and the way certain writers present their sentences), but once you get into the flow of it, it becomes a habit, and a blessing.

[Pan Michael]

Kevin,

Interesting reflections in your post. But I'm not sure about the part where you say that Millennials' rejection of the past is "not necessarily a good or a bad thing." Come on my friend, you are too kind--don't be afraid to be a little judgmental here! Of course it's a bad thing!

Mr. Veech,

While your points about the Founders being slave-holding, leisured aristocrats are well-taken, you have to remember that most of them were also workaholics--even by today's standards. Jefferson was a Virginia delegate at the same time that he was managing his private estate--and simultaneously pursuing every topic under the sun. Adams was a lawyer and farmer, Madison was always busy with something, and, of course, Franklin's pathological addiction to work is well-documented, etc. etc.

My point being that there is almost always time to read if it is important enough to a person. Similarly, I recall Lord Chesterfield reminding his son in their correspondence not to neglect the time spent on the toilet every morning, and to utilize those precious moments for reading the reflections of some great man!

At any rate, even for someone with "no time to spare", there are still countless books on tape that can be checked out at the library for free. So that's at least an hour a day for the average person's commute to work. Which is more than sufficient time to acquire a reasonably good education over a span of years.

What's more, I wonder how many hours even the most rabid corporate climber in this country spends anesthetized in front of the TV? I can't find the video on YouTube, but there's one where Noam Chomsky talks about how 80 or so years ago (long before Netflix!), the British working class attained an impressively high degree of culture and education, and was thoroughly conversant with the Great Books. I'll post the video if I can dig it up, but I thought that was rather interesting.

[Pan Michael]

T.E. Grau,

I see that I repeated your points about libraries and audiobooks. Funny, but I wrote that before reading your post!

[Zaharoff]

Quote Originally Posted by Gnosticangel

As described in this thread, the lack of education - and awareness of any kind - among bookstore staff these days is real and incredibly disheartening. And such lack leads to fewer "treasures" being located and cherished.

Sorry to revive a point from yesterday.
I worked in a music shop for fifteen years and staffing problems were similar.
When I hired on, most of the crew were versed about specific genres, eras, group members, etc ...
Several played in bands, everyone went to clubs.
In the final years, new hires knew top 10 radio hits.
Or they downloaded and "owned" tens of thousands of albums, but rarely listened to any.
They simply had no knowledge, nor were they interested.
I came to the conclusion that when goods are free, they lose value.

Bookshops?
My area has only one (dying) NEW chain front, and one USED chain front that stocks middle of the road titles.
It is what it is.

[T.E. Grau]

Quote Originally Posted by Pan Michael

T.E. Grau, I see that I repeated your points about libraries and audiobooks. Funny, but I wrote that before reading your post!

I'll be so arrogant and presumptuous as to say "great minds..."