My story, my books

May 17, 2008

My story, my books

To continue on Loud, Please's discussion about personal books and libraries, there is a wonderful article by Alberto Manguel in the New York Times of May 15. In it, he describes perfectly the feelings and meaning that our books bestow on our lives .

"The present one is a sort of multilayered autobiography, each book holding the moment in which I opened it for the first time. The scribbles on the margins, the occasional date on the flyleaf, the faded bus ticket marking a page for a reason today mysterious, all try to remind me of who I was then."

I once worked with a journalist who'd moved all over the world. Every time he moved, he'd keep 100 books. Not one more, not one less. Quite a challenge for anyone's who ever had to go through the process. I tried it myself, with a certain amount of success about 8 years ago. Since, I have become extremely picky about the books I buy. I don't want anything on my shelves that won't mean anything to me down the road. In the meantime, I also became a big listener of audiobooks. They are definitely easier to handle when it comes to space.

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