if you, like me, have bookshelves stuffed with #books around your house, then Eva Wiseman has got news for you... they signify more about your life & the society we live in than you thought.
'bookshelf wealth' (a new design trend), is not the innocent amassing of things to read, we may have thought...
@ChrisMayLA6@bookstodon This has always been a Thing. 50 or so years ago on my first trip to London as a teenager I was put up with a trendy young couple in Hampstead. All round their beautiful mews house they had books. "Coffee Table Books"™️
None had ever been opened (the corners of some pages still were joined where they needed cutting.)
As a kid brought up on an endless supply of library books I thought this was criminal. TBH I still do.
@ChrisMayLA6 The only real bonus I've found to having books (beyond not having to leave home to read them) is that they are a good way to insulate a house that is 1/3 sash windows and 2/3 single brick walls. @bookstodon
@ChrisMayLA6@bookstodon I think there's this weird missing piece in the puzzle, books ARE wealth. Full stop.
They represent genuine riches and enrichment. The main absurdity of a book that is never intended to be read is that it's like having a pile of money you do nothing with. It ends up being just paper.
A large library doesn't have to be constantly thumbed through to have value. Books go out of print & the promise that they can be read is also important. They are available to the curious.
Completely agree.... the reference wealth aspect is crucial. Knowing where I can find something out in my library, is a much more rewarding experience than just googling the answer
@ChrisMayLA6@bookstodon I've moved everywhere with various precious books. It's annoyed me and everyone involved but I've done it because it always felt like the right thing.
I'm finally in a place right now where my desk setup gives me space to keep reference books on hand. It's such a beautiful experience vs searching online.
There's a wandering, lingering within the text that is so different from a quick search.
Both are nice to have. But one is untracked and unobserved.
@clarablackink@ChrisMayLA6@bookstodon
Years ago I was in Cuba, before the US began relaxing the embargo and things began to change. There was a book store on every corner and a university in every neighbourhood. It seemed like everyone I met had a master’s degree and spoke multiple languages. When I asked about it someone told me “In Cuba you cannot amass wealth, but you can amass education.”
You remind me of times traveling in Eastern Europe, both before and after the transition from communism to capitalism. In particular, Berlin just after the wall came down - in what was formerly the east there were still proper little shops - butchers, bakers, etc - dotted seemingly at random around the streets (destined no doubt to soon turn into trendy bars, etc.).
I was working actually, and my interpreter was an American communist who had defected to the East! We had some great conversations - as I have indeed had with interpreters all over the former communist countries in Eastern Europe and Eurasia. But it was in fact the taxi driver that took me back to the airport whose summary of the recent changes most struck me:
"Yes," he confirmed, "Communism was shit. Capitalism - more shit." His English wasn't great (though much better than my German) so I never discovered whether he meant continuing shit, or worse shit.
@clarablackink@bookstodon@ChrisMayLA6@GeofCox
They talked about the uniformity of Soviet countries. They depended on Russia for so much that when the wall fell they were helpless AND without trading partners.
What really struck me about communism vs capitalism was how communism required a great deal of control while capitalism snuck in like a weed. The black market was a de facto capitalist market and extremely disruptive.
The cops had automatic weapons and quietly materialized the closer you got to something they were unsure about. Every group had a party spy. People got their power shut off if they said something the party didn’t agree with. I was at a party and a dude had a little too much to drink and started talking - everyone there was so skilled at silently steering him away.
@gregarofence The only difference is the police don't usually automatic weapons here. As for infiltration, I think they're the only ones left in the groups the UK govt. investigate! (Yes, I'm making light of a global slide into authoritarianism because the other alternative is simple mouth-foaming insanity). @clarablackink@bookstodon@InkySchwartz@ChrisMayLA6
@ChrisMayLA6@bookstodon As a child I was an avid reader, but we moved around a lot so I was always back to whatever few books I absolutely couldn’t part with. Now I have masses of books, and people always ask if I’ve really read them all. Yes, they don’t go into the bookcase until they are read (I have a TBR shelf elsewhere). It’s a bit sad if people don’t read their books, but perhaps they end up having a kid like me and then they aren’t wasted.
Books undeniably furnish a room (and make great insulation), but I can't imagine keeping any I didn't want to read. I go for eclectic charity shop chic simply because I can't afford new books and prefer to find hidden treasures rather than follow literary trends.
That said, I read fewer and fewer books as I get older, though the growing TBR pile consists entirely of books I bought with the intention of reading.
This very much rings a bell with me too, except that – even with reviewing everything I read, posting online – I'm maintaining a steady pace of around 70 books annually.
On of the key reasons I took early retirement (but not the only reason, of course), was to allow me to spend my reading time on things I actually wanted to read rather than the academic work(s) I was needing to read as a Professor.... so now older I have changed the quality of what I read rather than the quantity... but my TBR pile remains large
@riggbeck@ChrisMayLA6@bookstodon second hand books have a kind of magic to them, especially when you find the name of the last person who owned it written in there (or a book plate detailing why someone received the book as a prize/gift).
@riggbeck@ChrisMayLA6@bookstodon aren’t these delightful? I wonder what sort of Christmas H Patterson had, and how long it took her to get the whole series of books (I found more books over the years with her name in them, all from the same author).