By Michael K. Brantley
I went to the Pitt County library sale last weekend. It’s a big event featuring cheap books — most are $1-$3 each — held in the Convention Center. It is very encouraging for me as both a writer and a reader to see so many folks going in and out, almost all of them leaving with a fresh pile of books.
Reading is not dead, nor is the printed word on paper, friends.
My wife made a scouting trip to the sale on Friday and brought home one box. We went back and hit it again on Saturday, and she and I and our boys all left with some great stuff.
I would have been content had I only gotten the Collected Short Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald that she picked for me. However, I managed to snag Eudora Welty’s One Writer’s Beginnings, Gap Creek by Robert Morgan, and a collection of essays by Larry Brown, among other things.
These books were taken home and put on our to-read shelf. This shelf is one of those units that stretches from ceiling to floor. It is overflowing with books, and this is after I recently “weeded out” about two grocery bags’ worth that I either donated, gave away, or traded in at my favorite used bookstore.
There are already probably more things than Kristi and I can read in 10 years on that shelf. But we can’t stop.
Recently, I found out we aren’t the only ones with a problem.
Jessica Stillman wrote an article for Inc. magazine recently entitled “Why You Should Surround Yourself With More Books Than You’ll Ever Have Time to Read.” She makes the case that lifelong learning will make you happier and healthier. Stillman even says “Your overstuffed library isn’t a sign of failure or ignorance, it’s a badge of honor.” It is a sign of “intellectual hunger.”
I like that idea.
A New York Times article by Kevin Mims gives this condition a Japanese term, tsundoku, which means “a stack of books purchased but not read.” This article is a great read about not just read and unread books, but partially read books — a category very true book lover knows well.
My favorite part of the article is the end:
“The sight of a book you’ve read can remind you of the many things you’ve already learned. The sight of a book you haven’t read can remind you that there are many things you’ve yet to learn. And the sight of a partially read book can remind you that reading is an activity that you hope never to come to the end of.”
You can read the entire piece here:
Another good one, Michael. Keep ’em comin!
Thanks for being a loyal reader, Charles!