|
Tipping Point
It finally happened. I was able to get rid of books without pangs of guilt. Hardbound classic works of enduring value for generations past and future.
Sure I’ve given boxes and boxes of random fiction paperbacks to nursing homes and schools and libraries before knowing that setting them free might enrich others’ lives. But never the classics, never a copy of Moby Dick.
I have had the Reader about four months – a third of a year and it has changed how I look at books and the space around me. We had planned to put new shelves in one of the spare bedrooms and add more storage shelves in the basement this summer. These plans have now been scrapped.
I am going through the books and assembling groups that I can part with because I have them in open source electronic form. A lot of them come from Gutenberg and ManyBooks. Those that remain will be more accessible and usable. I will keep some because of sentimental reasons -- some signed, some given by departed friends, some from my youth with bookplates lettered by my late Grandfather. Cookbooks of dishes I will never prepare but simply lust after will be culled as will the picture books where scanning would take far too long.
I feel the technology will evolve and I will be able to contain the physical collection to its current space. When we moved here 17 years ago the moving company estimated that over 50% of the weight of our possessions was books. We have added more books than furniture and other stuff since then. At last we have reached a tipping point with the books and that will now start to decline.
|