Books Live On—I Hope

For John, BLUF:  Some people are collectors of books and some aren't.  I doubt the two groups will ever understand each other.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Recently, I threw some books in the trash... well, the recycling bin... but you know what I mean: I threw books out.

From Althouose, by Professor Ann Althouse, 18 Decembeer 2022, 12:36 PM.

Here is the lede plus two:

Recently, I threw some books in the trash... well, the recycling bin... but you know what I mean: I threw books out.  I wanted to tell you to help you.  I'm prompted by "We’re drowning in old books. But getting rid of them is heartbreaking.  'They’re more like friends than objects,’ one passionate bookseller says. What are we to do with our flooded shelves?" by Karen Heller (WaPo).

Book lovers are known to practice semi-hoardish and anthropomorphic tendencies.  They keep too many books for too long despite dust, dirt, mold, cracked spines, torn dust jackets, warped pages, coffee stains and the daunting reality that most will never be reread.  Age rarely enriches a book.

“Nobody likes to throw a book away. Nobody likes to see it go into a bin,” says Michael Powell of Powell’s Books in Portland, Ore.  Owners never want to see their hardback babies pulped.  Bibliocide seems particularly painful in this fraught era of banned books.  Hence, the sprouting of Little Free Libraries everywhere, and donations to public ones for resale, which enable staff to purchase new books.

At the Memorial Service for my late colleague and friend, Mark Hemenway, his Wife told the story of Mark saying to her "The difference between us is you love reading, but I love books."  That immediately resonated with me.  I worry that, upon my passing, my books will not go to people who appreciate them, but rather to a pulping machine.

It is a tragedy  On the other hand, by that point I may be focused on other things.

Hat tip to Ann Althouse.

Regards  —  Cliff