Tonight, I am packing. Packing books, and more books, and more books.
Before my last interstate move, I was ruthless about weeding books from my collection. I gave away everything that I would be able to find at a public library, including most of my classic works of literature. I've never missed them. As long as I can get them at a library, all is good.
Here's my problem with this move: I still have the books I couldn't stand to give up in my last move: the landmark scholarly works I read for my dissertation that I can't get outside of a university library. But in addition to these, I have a ton (maybe literally) of books that I acquired for my historical novel research. These books also cannot be found in most libraries: the only way you get them outside of academia is to buy them. There's no way I'm letting them go.
I own a number of books about faith, and living out one's faith in various ways. These need to stay in my home as references. Then there are the gargantuan works like my beautiful, deluxe edition of the Odyssey, my Collected Works of Shakespeare, or my excellent book of New York Times Front Pages collected from over one hundred years, a phenomenally good gift from my sister-in-law Laura. Each of these books probably weighs five to ten pounds!
So here I am in the age of the e-book, about to move hundreds of pounds of paper books to my new home.
And I am not sorry. :-)
Book hoarders, unite! Tell me the titles of your most treasured paper books: which are the ones you could never give away?
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11 comments:
I love books so much! Your two books are on my "favorite" shelf, as well as Safely Home by Randy Alcorn, Pride and Prejudice, His Steadfast Love by Golden Keyes Parson, as well as a few other historical fiction books :) My mom and sister have to hold me back when we go to B&N, and the Christian bookstore! :)
I suppose moving is the ultimate test of one's love for her books. Fortunately, I haven't been faced with needing to separate the keepers from the ((gasp)) give-aways in a long time. I, too, own a kindle and have many novels downloaded, but... It. Is not. The same. So I'm with ya when it comes to proudly carrying my beloved books from house to house. (Bonus: you'll be toning those biceps for summer tank-top season.) ;-)
Not only do I still have all of my favorites, but I also have a collection of books (going all the way back to the cardboard book days) that I read to my kids which I don't think I'll ever want to part with.
Love this! I have some that I could never give away either!
Like this really really old copy of Gone With the Wind! It's so worn and tattered, but I love it! And my equally worn Narnia compilation, which is anxiously awaiting the day when I can read them to my son.
Ha! I own the Collected Works of Shakespeare! You aren't kidding, it is massive! I like when my floors get crowded and books are stacked on my end tables. Not so sure my man feels the same, but it makes it feel like home to me.
~ Wendy
Books are my work, too. There are simply too many titles that I couldn't/wouldn't get rid of to name them all. There are several Bible/theological dictionary sets, such as Anchor Bible, The new IVP Dictionary of ... series on the Bible, etc. Then there are scores of history books that aren't in libraries.
Keep the books. They are more than ink on a page. They are a testament to great civilization. May I share a quote here? It is from Michael Hoffman in an article entitled, "Wired to the Data Hive."
"When the contents of the great libraries are all on disks and CDs and the old books themselves shoveled into incinerators, and Fahrenheit 451 becomes the temperature of our time, then the monster (the supremacy of the digital empire) will be abroad in the land.
If that transpires, we print reactionaries will retreat to that cathedral within ourselves, where the aisles are lined with books and the pews are filled with readers and the pages illuminated by light eternal.
After a lifetime of reading, that will be our due, for we did in our bookish years, craft within our souls sacred space, where no satellite or laser beam or camcorder's eye may trespass; the place Teresa of Avila called, 'the interior castle,' and there we shall take refuge, while the outside and all about us the heathen rage, and the machines rap the raucous swan song of the Age of Expansion."
Yeah, save those books. Occasionally, when I have to move a stack of books to the closest b/c I have again run out of space in my office, I reread this article and remind myself that there is a good reason for books to adorn our lives.
Hey Rosslyn,
Just in case you didn't get a chance to read my blog on Rachelle's site a couple weeks ago I think you'll find yourself in excellent company if you are a craft junkie.:)
http://www.rachellegardner.com/2012/04/are-you-a-craft-junkie/#comments
Have fun! Pack those books. Someone might find one of them in 2,000 years and say, "Hey, what's this?"
I love my books. I have some that I can't give away...they are that dear to me.
Oh my goodness- I don't think you want me to write a novel! I love books, not sure there are any I could do without.
Hello. My name is Carol and I have a book addiction. LOL! I oh so sympathize with your moving costs.
Our home is a reasonably good size and I have floor-to-almost-ceiling bookcases in three rooms. I know our next move will be to downsize and I dread the culling process. While I do have some eBooks, nothing satisfies me as much as my favourite paper volumes.
Books like yours, and others of my writing friends, both online and in real life, would have to stay. After all, I've followed the development of their writing careers and feel like I've almost participating in the birthing of their books! The writing craft books that are filled with highlighted meaningful sections are too personal to part with. I'm sentimental about some of my childhood favourites that have been read and re-read to children and grandchildren. ::sigh:: It's enough to stop me from moving at all! (I know, it's not an option sometimes, but I don't want to contemplate that yet.)
Libbi - Thank you! I have Safely Home and haven't had a chance to read it yet--I hope to do so soon.
Barb - I've saved a few of my daughter's early books too. And about the biceps...ever since I started working with horses, some of my friends and I have a joke about the size of my biceps. My friend Melissa bought me a t-shirt bragging about it--but even the "buff" version of my puny arms is still relatively puny. :-)
Katie - I still have a number of books on the shelves that my daughter is now reading! She already read the Narnia books, but is now enjoying the Martian Chronicles by Burroughs.
Wendy - Though stacks are a reality, I do dream of a perfectly organized reading library.:-)
Warren, what a beautiful quotation! Thanks for sharing it. I especially like the sentence about the cathedral...gorgeous prose and imagery.
Jill, I'm actually not as much a craft junkie as some of my writer friends, though I enjoyed your post when it first appeared on Rachelle's blog. History is my weakness. :-)
Loree and TC - Thanks for coming by!
Carol - I love the idea of floor-to-ceiling bookcases in three rooms. Hmmmm...
Rosslyn, well, the two books I wrote that were published are keepers. The book my great-grandfather wrote, same thing. My Bibles, and writing books, and faith books...oh my. There are many I'd keep with me. They are part of my heart, for sure. I hope it's going okay. Thinking of you.
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