Why do you keep your books?

[LitNetIsGreat]

It is Christmas time and it is time for the annual bash the Neely competition!

Why do you need to read a book more than once?
Why do you want another bookcase?
Why don’t you just throw or give your books away when you have read them, I do? etc.
Isn’t he a little strange, like one of those hoarders?

The barrage of attacks comes from my wife’s grandmother and co, as part of our annual bash the Neely after Christmas dinner party game!!!:santasmil

Of course I could respond with quoting Wilde that “if a book is not worth reading more than once it is not worth reading at all”. Or I could gently explain that some people don’t just read for plot, that there is more to it than that, or I could expand on the fact that I am a student and a trainee English Teacher (sort of) and that books kind of come in handy in the business. I could even rant about the fact that they are my books and they are jolly well staying put where I keep them – and if I want to purchase a third bookcase then I will. However, however - in order to keep the peace I bite my lip every year; I’m not sure how I can relate such things without feeling myself spill over in frustration – besides I just want my dinner to settle and to finish my drinks – I don’t want a literary debate at that particular time with the frail old lady “non-reader” but the onslaught comes again and again. What’s more my wife well and truly knows my position on this, but sides with the enemy on the matter every year, pleading the victim...

So I suppose I am sublimating my frustrations on Lit Net with the hopes that either someone will agree with my position, therefore consoling my frustrations (thus making me feel better); or that someone will disagree with me and support my wife’s grandmother’s position, and I can take my frustrations out on them (thus making me feel better too).

So, what will it be, friend or foe??? ;)

Why do you read books more than once?

Why don’t you just give your books away when you have read them?

Why do you keep your books?

Thanks.

[Lumiere]

To revisit your favorite parts, of course!

Also, simply for sentimental reasons. You carry this piece of leather and paper and ink around with you for a month, (give or take a couple weeks, naturally), and it takes on its own persona, becomes a part of your life. It's comforting to have it sitting there on your shelf, just like it's comforting to have an old picture hanging on your wall.

[kiki1982]

Who wants to give his books away when he has read them?? What a strange notion. Go to the library, then you don't have to pay for them in the first place. Giving them away is a huge waste of money.

I don't re-read very often because my memory is too good, but I like to keep them to check or to look in them once in a while.

And anyway, there is nothing like a large library (that is my ambition) where you can find everything, to make an impression on someone :D. And it is great to count the amount of books you have already read.

And I agree with Lumiere. But that will probably not make any impression... I can imagine their looks... A persona? A book? :lol:

[stlukesguild]

Why do you need to read a book more than once?

Neely... have you asked any of them why the would want to watch the same TV show, the same movie, or listen to the same film more than once? Assuming that most of them have had sex more than once why not ask them why they would wish to engage in such an activity having already done it once... they know how it will turn out, do they not? Such is perhaps the main reason we read the same book more than once... for the sheer pleasure it affords. I would add to this that as a passionate reader of poetry I repeatedly return to beloved poets and poems because I find in many cases they demand repeated readings. Indeed... I find that most any book of any worth repays repeated readings for the reason that no work of any merit can fully e understood or reduced to a single "meaning" grasped in one fell swoop. This is true largely because each time we reread a book we have changed... we have gained more and different experiences including the experience of having read other books. Reading Dante the first time was not like reading Dante after also having read Kafka and T.S. Eliot and J.L. Borges.

Why do you want another bookcase?

Because I like to have my books well organized and accessible... physically and visually. They are impressive, are they not? Seriously, I am far more impressed with the quality of someone's library, their collection of music, and their collection of art books and original art than I am with cars, the size of their home, or other toys.

Why don’t you just throw or give your books away when you have read them, I do? etc.

Why don't you throw out your CDs or delete your MP3s after having listened to them once? I never know when a book will call to me again. Upon reading one J.L. Borges essay I was driven to reread DeQuincy's Confessions of an English Opium Eater in light to his thoughts of that work. Upon first watching the film Apocalypse Now! I knew I needed to reread The Heart of Darkness (upon which the film is greatly indebted). Upon reading Blood Meridian I found myself returning to Moby Dick... because literature is greatly about a dialog between writers over spans of time and space.

Isn’t he a little strange, like one of those hoarders?

Strange...? In the sense that you do not necessarily value the same things as contemporary society has dictated are to be valued? That you do value things which others imagine to be but forms of entertainment? Fine, then accept the term and wear it with honor.

The barrage of attacks comes from my wife’s grandmother and co, as part of our annual bash the Neely after Christmas dinner party game!!!

I certainly know the experience. My in-laws cannot understand why someone as smart as I (they at least grant me a degree of intelligence... grudgingly) could possibly waste so much time and effort upon things which do not make money... like art, literature, and music. Why can't I be more like my brother-in-law who scraped through college and now has a "real" job, vacations every year at Disney World, just bought a big boat, hunts and fishes with the family?

Of course I could respond with quoting Wilde that “if a book is not worth reading more than once it is not worth reading at all”.

Quoting Oscar Wilde to the uninitiated? Surely a futile effort, man.

However, however - in order to keep the peace I bite my lip every year...

Almost certainly the only strategy of any worth. Accept that having any real passion in life will be interpreted by many as a sign of eccentricity... if not of true madness. A passion for books will be seen by most as no less inexplicable than a passion for collecting toy trains and staging them in highly detailed dioramas in the basement, or a passion for Star Trek that results in arguments about the merits of Captain James T. Kirk vs Captain Jean-Luc Picard and attending yearly conventions dressed as Dr. Spock.

I’m not sure how I can relate such things without feeling myself spill over in frustration – besides I just want my dinner to settle and to finish my drinks – I don’t want a literary debate at that particular time with the frail old lady “non-reader” but the onslaught comes again and again. What’s more my wife well and truly knows my position on this, but sides with the enemy on the matter every year, pleading the victim...

My wife eventually came around. She now fumes and frets about the ignorant thing her sister or brother-in-law had to say about my art or reading at the latest family gathering. Your choice is to make yourself over to fit into their interests... for me this would mean passing around my latest handgun or fishing reel for all to admire (not likely to happen!) or sticking to my passions. Blood may be thicker than water, but I have long realized that my friends mean as much if not more to me because unlike family they are my acquaintances by choice... because we share certain interests/passions.

So I suppose I am sublimating my frustrations on Lit Net with the hopes that either someone will agree with my position...

I could not empathize more. But my man, you are in Great Britain are you not? You surely have access to some of the finest spirits in which to drown your family woes. All of our family gatherings include Budweiser :eek::goof::sick: I usually need to bring my own... perhaps a Samuel Smith Imperial Stout or a Three Philosophers Ale (I have a couple bottles of each in the 'fridge just for emergencies such as annual required family gatherings.:lol:

[Jazz_]

When I first saw the title I thought you were genuinely asking - and was about to bash Neely (asking what you're doing on a literature forum) ;)

I think stlukesguild summed it up nicely - have you asked any of them why the would want to watch the same TV show, the same movie, or listen to the same film more than once?

The only thing I can contribute is sympathy - to have such in-laws! :eek:
Instead of condemning my love of books, my family help me expand my collection (books are usually my most common present :D)

[JuniperWoolf]

Very nice reply, stlukesguild.

I say to hell with social conventions; tell grandma to shove it (then tell us all about it, it'd be funny).

[Virgil]

I am obssessed with keeping my books. I have always wanted a personal library that looks like this:

http://images.sodahead.com/images/profiles/0/0/1/1/9/5/8/0/1/profiles_BookWormL_2408_252507.jpeg

Of course I don't have a room for it in my house but most of my books are in plastic storage containers in my basement. But a guy can dream can't he? ;)

Nice answer StLukes. :)

[JBI]

Heh, my family bashed me for a while, and then I told them that if worst comes to worst, I'll go to law school and be richer than all of them - that didn't go well, then I told them my grades, and they still don't believe I made the right choice, but they know I'll follow through on the Law School threat and they better smarten up.

Truth be told, I keep my books because, quite simply, the feeling of having books is one which I enjoy. My collection is humble, though decent enough - I lent out my Norton anthology though, and my copy of Poetic Designs though.

It's strange though - they say, "better to go a thousand miles than read a thousand books." Perhaps that is true. At least reading beats the tedium of the every day though.

[Lumiere]

.....or a passion for Star Trek that results in arguments about the merits of Captain James T. Kirk vs Captain Jean-Luc Picard and attending yearly conventions dressed as Dr. Spock.


Ehem....just so you are aware, Captain Kirk currently holds the position of Best Captain Ever, and is not likely to be challenged anytime soon. :banana:

Carry on with your intellectual discussion, gents. :cool:

[mortalterror]

She now fumes and frets about the ignorant thing her sister or brother-in-law had to say about my art or reading at the latest family gathering."Poor StLukes, painted one too many cans of soup.":lol:

[kiki1982]

Ehem....just so you are aware, Captain Kirk currently holds the position of Best Captain Ever, and is not likely to be challenged anytime soon. :banana:

Carry on with your intellectual discussion, gents. :cool:

Ehem, I'll have you know that I am a personal fan of Patrick Stuart. WHAT DID YOU SAY!? :smash: :lol: What a great discussion :D.

StLukes :lol::lol: Actually those were great arguments! But maybe the grandmother has not watched films for ages, although she might have, and probably has, watched Gone with the Wind several times.

What about just keeping your interests to yourself? But somebody blabbed, I suppose. My father was for a long time the only one who actually read in his family. Nobody ever complaned about that, found it strange, or anything, although he has the whole living room full of bookcases. They only can't relate to anything like it... But respect it all the same. My in-laws personally do not know a lot about me. I have several times waved a book around, but they are not interested... Maybe because it was in French (something they do not speak)? And my husband's father and sister+husband have seen the bookcase (one whole wall) and didn't even look at it. I suppose we are just lucky, although lack of interest is also a little sad...

[Dinkleberry2010]

I'm in a situation where I have no access to a physical library of any kind, so in order to obtain actual books I have to buy them or have them given to me; therefore, I treasure all the books I obtain and I keep them.

[LitNetIsGreat]

Thanks everyone, I now feel fully restored of mind (minus the little whisky/wine thing). Of course I am usually very strong willed and independent in what I do, I, or even we, if I may be so bold to assume, are used to feeling like the "odd" ones out occasionally and that is not a problem - it is just sometimes it gets you banging your head a little. I mean I can take all criticism and really do (anyone who has stepped within a mile of secondary school recently will know what I mean) but an old lady with a mince pie kind of scares me, or at least throws me a little, especially after a large meal and that.


Neely... have you asked any of them why the would want to watch the same TV show, the same movie, or listen to the same film more than once? Assuming that most of them have had sex more than once why not ask them why they would wish to engage in such an activity having already done it once... they know how it will turn out, do they not?

Yes I have used these arguments with other people (though not the sex one which is good, the argument that is) but it is that old lady mince pie thing again alas! Next time however, I am going to have to speak my mind methinks. I am also going to incorporate the workman and his tools argument, you know, would you throw a spanner away after one use? Well, books are my tools too...


Strange...? In the sense that you do not necessarily value the same things as contemporary society has dictated are to be valued? That you do value things which others imagine to be but forms of entertainment? Fine, then accept the term and wear it with honor.

Too damn right.


Quoting Oscar Wilde to the uninitiated? Surely a futile effort, man.

True, who said to quote Shakespeare to a circle of twelve monkeys means that you will just be the thirteenth? This is part of the reason why I bite my tongue a little too, I don't want to sound like a monkey! (Please note I am not calling my in-laws monkeys for that would be very mean and nasty, I'm merely speaking figuratively.)


I could not empathize more. But my man, you are in Great Britain are you not? You surely have access to some of the finest spirits in which to drown your family woes. All of our family gatherings include Budweiser I usually need to bring my own... perhaps a Samuel Smith Imperial Stout or a Three Philosophers Ale (I have a couple bottles of each in the 'fridge just for emergencies such as annual required family gatherings.

Oh, I gladly take what is on offer, ish - though I did take round one or two Trappist brews, nobody wanted one of course, my "funny" drinks are met with extreme suspicion.:eek:


Heh, my family bashed me for a while, and then I told them that if worst comes to worst, I'll go to law school and be richer than all of them - that didn't go well, then I told them my grades, and they still don't believe I made the right choice, but they know I'll follow through on the Law School threat and they better smarten up.


Truth be told, I keep my books because, quite simply, the feeling of having books is one which I enjoy. My collection is humble, though decent enough - I lent out my Norton anthology though, and my copy of Poetic Designs though.

It's strange though - they say, "better to go a thousand miles than read a thousand books." Perhaps that is true. At least reading beats the tedium of the every day though.

See a problem shared heals wounds, I guess a lot of us do feel the same way.

Yes my own library is very small, (350-450?) it is certainly not due to lack of want, but lack of space and combined needs. Of course it is what you do with them that counts, and the libraries are not far away, but one day maybe...

http://images.sodahead.com/images/profiles/0/0/1/1/9/5/8/0/1/profiles_BookWormL_2408_252507.jpeg

Ahhhh!


What about just keeping your interests to yourself? But somebody blabbed, I suppose. My father was for a long time the only one who actually read in his family. Nobody ever complaned about that, found it strange, or anything, although he has the whole living room full of bookcases. They only can't relate to anything like it... But respect it all the same. My in-laws personally do not know a lot about me. I have several times waved a book around, but they are not interested... Maybe because it was in French (something they do not speak)? And my husband's father and sister+husband have seen the bookcase (one whole wall) and didn't even look at it. I suppose we are just lucky, although lack of interest is also a little sad...

Oh, yes I have waved books too, but apart from the odd junk book (which shouldn't be read at all let alone more than once) nobody in my family reads too. They insist that if it were any book they would make it into a film. Or my dad says he read some science fiction when he was younger, that one which began with G?:idea: Or worse. My brother thinks that they should be a law against reading - and he is only half joking!

Let's just say the book on Buddhism I took round yesterday didn't go down too well.
"Oh doesn't he read some sh**?"
My faint defence was greeted with ignorant deaf ears and my half-attempted explanations were drowned out to the sounds of the TV as "The Grandmother" shook her head in a bewildered disbelief, ah, Christmas Day...:santasmil cheers to all, ho, ho, ho!

[Hank Stamper]

it has been suggested that my 'library' would make good kindling should the boiler break

[stlukesguild]

What about just keeping your interests to yourself? But somebody blabbed, I suppose.

That is something of an impossibility... at least if anyone visits our home. I have 8 4x6' book shelves crammed to the gills with books staked up another foot an a half atop each, books stacked on my desk, books stacked on the floor in towers that teeter and form a maze that must be navigated on the way through the room.

Let's just say the book on Buddhism I took round yesterday didn't go down too well.
"Oh doesn't he read some sh**?"

At least it wasn't something on Islam!?:eek2:
(Personal reminder: Must get that copy of the Qur'an off the desk fefore the family visits over New Years:goof:)

Poor StLukes, painted one too many cans of soup.:lol:

They'd probably actually prefer that I did paint soup cans... or some respectable still life subject... instead of all those nudes.:blush::brow:

[Helga]

I think books make a house a home, it's the first thing I look for when I'm visiting someone.. I love looking back through some chapters and re-read even though I remember well what I read.

[Gilliatt Gurgle]

Neely, you are not alone as shown by all of the supporting and humorous comments. I realize it may be too late for Christmas, but here is more ammo you may use in the future:

Who prepared the meal that you are nibbling on and how did the perfect blend of ingredients come to be? Assuming that the meal was palatable, otherwise you could cry fowl at the toughness of the Turkey!

“Well how the hell long do I roast this damn bird?!” demands Grandmother.
Neely replies: “Well Grandmum (is that how you say it?) let us take a stroll over here to my bookcase and pull out “Woman’s Home Companion – Cook Book” (Garden City Publishing Co. C-1946) open up to page 439, where it indicates that you are to roast the turkey for…”

Plus, with a title like that, you get the added benefit of a subtle jab at women’s liberation if in fact Grandma and Co., have feminist leanings.

Your books are your recipes for the mind.

You might argue that bookcases filled with books serve as your choice of “art” to adorn your walls, likened to a dynamic mural, forever changing with the pulling, replacing and shifting of books. Artwork that is more pleasing to the eye, unlike the discomfort brought about by Grandmum’s circa 1970’s wall covering composed of a mesmerizing pattern of red roosters on a field of faux gilded gold.

Now to that part of the company staring aimlessly into the idiot box, you should warn them against radiation poisoning emitted from the TV. The radiation ploy was implemented by many a parent in the United States back in the 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s, to break the hypnotic trance sapping the minds of their little urchins huddled on the floor.
(Unless of course, it was time for Star Trek (TOS), Twilight Zone, Alfred Hitchcock, The Outer Limits, Gunsmoke… – then it was to heck with radiation poisoning. Parents too, fell prey to the power of the vacuum tubes, fighting for the nearest seat)

Now grab a copy of Milton and have each of them hold the book for a moment;
“Here brother in law, feel the cover, feel the paper, smell it, good yes?… no, no we don’t lick the books!”
“There, you see it will not harm you and better yet, no radiation!”

“Awww, is Milton a bit too much for you to handle? Hmm…let me see…ah, here we go; “Cat in the Hat”!

[LitNetIsGreat]

:lol::lol::lol: Love it!

[Veho]

Sometimes I just like to stand in front of my bookcase and stare at them all. When I do this, I like to reflect on some of my favourite moments from within them all.

[Pryderi Agni]

Where they should be kept, in a bookshelf :)

[dfloyd]

since before Thoms Jefferson donated his book collection to the US government to start the now Library of Congress. He had 25,000 books which, I believe, were hauled by wagon to Washington DC from Montecello. Every book collector has different motives for collecting books, but I never knock another oerson's objectives, even if they are far from my objectives. I remember reading about a man living in New York City who had more than 40,000 books. They were so heavy he had installed jacks under the floors of his apartment to alleviate the weight. Now there's a true bibliomaniac.

In my case, I started collecting books at about the age of 8 or 9. My first collection was of all the Tarzan books by Edgar Rice Burroughs. This was during WWII, and the paper used was not acid free so these literally disintegrated in the 1950s.

After graduating from college, I bought paperbacks and a few Modern Library books as I started to read more of the classics. As time went on, I started collecting books which were of an art form: fine bindings coupled with great design, translations, and illustrations. My criteria was that the book had to be well designed, in excellent condition, and I must read it. People who collect books they don't read always seem possessed by some compelling or obssessive behaviour. Like the man I read about who had over 4,000 books about Joan of Arc.

Now, after collecting books for over 45 years, I have a collection of books which number around a 1,000. This is a number I can readily get into my library room in my small condominium. The largest number of these were published by the Limited Editions Club from 1929 to 1985. Some are fairly valuable, such as a signed John Hershey copy of Hiroshima.

But no matter what your collection is comprised of, it is your collection and is nobody's business but yours. Whether you collect paperbacks or finely bound books or first editions, it is your hobby. And you couldn't, in my opinion, find a better one. If relatives criticized my collection, I would be tempted to throw them out of my house - the relatives, not the books!

[kelby_lake]

I think books make a house a home, it's the first thing I look for when I'm visiting someone.. I love looking back through some chapters and re-read even though I remember well what I read.

You can tell what a person is like by the books they have on their shelves. I love being nosey like that.

[wessexgirl]

I'm in total agreement with all of the other bibliophiles on here Neely, and I think Dfloyds suggestion of chucking out the relatives instead of the books is one I like. Most people have something they have a passion for, and obviously, as you would expect on a literature forum, ours are books. I have a houseful of books and bookcases, and I too get that same sort of ignorance from certain people. Admittedly I haven't read all of my books yet, and so I get the constant refrain about buying more when I haven't read all of the ones I have, but isn't that the curse (or the joy) of the bibliophile? There are only so many hours in a day, and what with "real" life intruding on time as it has to, anyone would be hard pushed to read all that they want. The love of literature, with everything it can bring to a person, is only part of the fascination. The actual, physical beauty of a book is as much the attraction to me as what it contains. I could no more throw out my books as my kids, (if they still lived at home, but as they don't more room for books yay :D). I feel your frustration with grandma, you obviously can't do as you would like and swing her round your head by the nostrils before throwing her out of the door, (or is that just me :brow:) but take deep breaths, and smile sweetly when she bangs on for the zillionth time about your crazy obsession, and let it go. I know what it's like to feel as if you're the odd one out, swimming against the tide of other peoples prejudices, and having the sort of temperament that I do, I have always stood up, loud and proud and defended myself. However, as I am no longer married, and so do not have the problem of trying to keep the peace with the in laws, I can do as I want. For the sake of peaceful family Christmases, (are there such things?), you may be better off letting her comments roll off your back like the proverbial duck and water. Just meditate inwardly as you're reading your book on Buddhism, and know that yours is the right path. You know that you have a spiritual home here amongst the other weirdoes who love books, to the extent that they will read them more than once...:eek:!!!! You are blessed, along with the rest of us, with an enquiring mind and a love of knowledge. What do the grandmas of this world have, with no inner world and imagination to look to? If she's happy with that, fine. But don't let her get to you. March on to the beat of your own drum, (I'm full of cliches today, it must be Christmas :)), and don't let anyone interrupt your obvious love of literature by making you feel bad about it. We litnetters can act as the Samaritans, we're just at the other end of the computer so you can vent if you need. Carry on reading.....(as if you wouldn't :D).