I just got back from sorting my father's something 4000 books in order to sell some for cash. Quite the job. Dad was indeed a bibliophile of the first order and though he knew much and read much he also collected much that he did not read.
It has given me pause. I enjoy music, games, books, movies, play, gardening, sport, cooking... so many things. Do I need them all? Most of the time I think of life as a banquet (where most poor suckers are starving) but I'm beginning to think my time too is limited. What do I need to read, or need to do, or what will I never look at again? That extra copy of Hemingway? Junk. The third translation of Dante (or the fourth or the fifth)? Junk. Dostoevsky? Books on Cicero? Why keep all this stuff around? I'm never going to read it. And in the time left I had best get cracking on those things that interest me most.
Wake up call.
It has given me pause. I enjoy music, games, books, movies, play, gardening, sport, cooking... so many things. Do I need them all? Most of the time I think of life as a banquet (where most poor suckers are starving) but I'm beginning to think my time too is limited. What do I need to read, or need to do, or what will I never look at again? That extra copy of Hemingway? Junk. The third translation of Dante (or the fourth or the fifth)? Junk. Dostoevsky? Books on Cicero? Why keep all this stuff around? I'm never going to read it. And in the time left I had best get cracking on those things that interest me most.
Wake up call.
Agreed. You and me both.
ReplyDeleteI have come to recognize my mortality more than ever recently.
I have much culling of books to accomplish.
Now that my garage is roofed, maybe I can spend some time actually sorting through my stuff so my kids don't have to do it when I'm gone.
Don't be afraid to unload them on anyone. There was this one very old customer at work who gave me history books on Medieval economy, one on St. Peter's, and then one on the Hapsburgs. Really cool stuff.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen that customer in a while...
Hey, my man Captain Awesome, if I come across anything you might like I'll gladly send it your way.
ReplyDeleteI'll gladly take them off your hands!
ReplyDeleteI'm kind of on a history binge at the moment, FYI, but I'll give just about anything a go.
Oh, graphic novels, too. Superheroes are awesome.
ReplyDeleteooh, that sounds cool. Ah well. Easy come, easy go!
ReplyDelete