We approach books as sources of pleasure, of knowledge, seeking answers, seeking escape; but we also approach the book as an object, as a thing that has beauty and that we need only for pleasure, for possession.
Thank you for this marvelous essay. I was particularly moved by Umberto Eco’s words on his library. I too have more books than I can sit down and read in my lifetime (I’m 78) but now I realize I have been reading them all along. Yesterday on impulse I read the first three pages of The Wealth of Nations. Will I read the remaining 897 pages? Probably not, and yet perhaps.
It also occurred to me that libraries are like gardens, and rarely survive the life of their builder. They are ephemeral yet beautiful and should be experienced as such.
I absolutely love your last phrase here! And thank you for reading! And, yes, probably we are not going to finish reading, or even start reading, all the books we have, but is a nice feeling to own them, collect them, and give the respectful treatment they deserve too
Really good essay! I found Baldwin's quote particularly compelling. But I wonder about your conclusion about "good taste". It seems to me that authors whose works t have persisted over centuries and millennia -- Homer, Cervantes, Shakespeare, Melville -- have touched on things that universally resonate with the human spirit. But there are more temporal and quotidian books that are powerful or funny or poignant in their time, in their country, in their zeitgeist, that certainly won't last as long as Moby Dick or Don Quixote. For myself, I know that many of these books aren't of the greatest value, but they still nourish something in my spirit. I think one sometimes needs a little chocolate along with his/her bread.
I always try to be careful with my words when explaining good taste in books, because it can cause wars! But I think that when we face a book and think, is this a text I'm going to reread? Do I want to reread it? Am I going to study it, have a close reading? Then it's worth it. Not many books pass this test. It's not just about the classics (there are books considered classics that I personally can't stand), but it also applies to more contemporary books. There are books that can be entertaining or interesting, but they don't last more than a single reading and are forgotten. Why invest time in those? When there are so many masterpieces waiting to be discovered?
I certainly agree with you that there are books that you can re-read again and again; that grow with you and change you on each reading. And that those books are (for me) some of my dearest treasures. But again, for me, it would be emotionally and intellectually exhausting for me to have a strict diet of such books. There are also books that were perfect and inspiring for me in certain periods of my life, but become colorless and tawdry as I outgrow them. Anyway, I don't mean to define or circumscribe good taste. I just think it's pretty dynamic and changes with the reader and the times. Also, there's an evil creature that I call the "Suck Fairy" who sucks beauty out of a book or a song if you experience it too many times. There are many things that are too precious to me to overuse.
That is an interesting take too! I think is absolutely valid, well, any opinion in this regard is valid right? we are all different. But yes I can also think of some really wonderful books that I have not reread, maybe will, sometime in future years, but I consider that they could maybe became classics one day.
Years ago I was visiting an artist's workroom when he happened to be discussing a student's work. The student had asked him what he saw when looking at the student's drawing. The master said "It doesn't matter what I see. I want to see what you see."
When I read a book I want to see what the author sees. I'm not looking for self knowledge or universal truths (though these may emerge); I'm not looking for "relatable" stories or characters. I want authors to talk to me about life, about what they've discovered and what they still question, about the innumerable variations of relationships, of desires and loves and failures. And I want them to write with a style that gives me pleasure, and with a vocabulary large enough so the right word, maybe a surprising word, is at hand when needed.
Charles Lamb had a sizable library, but supposedly kept only a few books within reach which he re-read frequently. And why not? Isn't one of the greatest satisfactions of reading found in spending time with authors whose companionship you enjoy?
I agree with you, and about rereading, that is one of the most important acts in my opinion. To revisit a book, its words and the feelings it provoke, is always magical, and so important for our souls.
Loved this. And I am totally in agreeance with you on the fact of there being some books that are essential and some that are useless.
When I dropped out of school pretty young, this was all part of the reason why I decided to start my own little journey of reading/collecting classic literature too (which is still very much ongoing)
It's all part of that same idea which you express so eloquently here - that books give us a means to connect to both the writer, and to all the other writers that have previously inspired them.
thank you for this. Books are certainly a fabric that can unite us all. It's amazing when we can read something that connects so much with how we feel! And what you mentioned about following your own journey in reading and educating yourself, I think it's an extremely enriching and challenging experience (and for me works better)
A good library is a calm and pleasant gathering of minds and experience—a true symposium of life and living—and it has its own sense and measurement of time, which extends far beyond the culminated years of our daily driven breaths.
Have to admit that my own personal library of books is tiny (just a few dozen). Other than a few favourites, I nearly always give away the books I buy.
It sounds like you're a very conscious reader and not a collector, that's great too! Not everyone collects books, on a large scale, but the important thing is to collect those texts that are important, favorites, that are worth reading!
Commenting on our collections with an old friend a few days ago, he felt pity that I spent most of my reading time with academic papers instead of literary works.
I think there is nothing bad, or to feel pity for, with reading more academic texts than, let's say fiction. I also read a lot of academic papers and books and indeed they are a fundamental part of the kind of reader and thinker we are :)
Thank you for this marvelous essay. I was particularly moved by Umberto Eco’s words on his library. I too have more books than I can sit down and read in my lifetime (I’m 78) but now I realize I have been reading them all along. Yesterday on impulse I read the first three pages of The Wealth of Nations. Will I read the remaining 897 pages? Probably not, and yet perhaps.
It also occurred to me that libraries are like gardens, and rarely survive the life of their builder. They are ephemeral yet beautiful and should be experienced as such.
I absolutely love your last phrase here! And thank you for reading! And, yes, probably we are not going to finish reading, or even start reading, all the books we have, but is a nice feeling to own them, collect them, and give the respectful treatment they deserve too
Really good essay! I found Baldwin's quote particularly compelling. But I wonder about your conclusion about "good taste". It seems to me that authors whose works t have persisted over centuries and millennia -- Homer, Cervantes, Shakespeare, Melville -- have touched on things that universally resonate with the human spirit. But there are more temporal and quotidian books that are powerful or funny or poignant in their time, in their country, in their zeitgeist, that certainly won't last as long as Moby Dick or Don Quixote. For myself, I know that many of these books aren't of the greatest value, but they still nourish something in my spirit. I think one sometimes needs a little chocolate along with his/her bread.
I always try to be careful with my words when explaining good taste in books, because it can cause wars! But I think that when we face a book and think, is this a text I'm going to reread? Do I want to reread it? Am I going to study it, have a close reading? Then it's worth it. Not many books pass this test. It's not just about the classics (there are books considered classics that I personally can't stand), but it also applies to more contemporary books. There are books that can be entertaining or interesting, but they don't last more than a single reading and are forgotten. Why invest time in those? When there are so many masterpieces waiting to be discovered?
I certainly agree with you that there are books that you can re-read again and again; that grow with you and change you on each reading. And that those books are (for me) some of my dearest treasures. But again, for me, it would be emotionally and intellectually exhausting for me to have a strict diet of such books. There are also books that were perfect and inspiring for me in certain periods of my life, but become colorless and tawdry as I outgrow them. Anyway, I don't mean to define or circumscribe good taste. I just think it's pretty dynamic and changes with the reader and the times. Also, there's an evil creature that I call the "Suck Fairy" who sucks beauty out of a book or a song if you experience it too many times. There are many things that are too precious to me to overuse.
That is an interesting take too! I think is absolutely valid, well, any opinion in this regard is valid right? we are all different. But yes I can also think of some really wonderful books that I have not reread, maybe will, sometime in future years, but I consider that they could maybe became classics one day.
Years ago I was visiting an artist's workroom when he happened to be discussing a student's work. The student had asked him what he saw when looking at the student's drawing. The master said "It doesn't matter what I see. I want to see what you see."
When I read a book I want to see what the author sees. I'm not looking for self knowledge or universal truths (though these may emerge); I'm not looking for "relatable" stories or characters. I want authors to talk to me about life, about what they've discovered and what they still question, about the innumerable variations of relationships, of desires and loves and failures. And I want them to write with a style that gives me pleasure, and with a vocabulary large enough so the right word, maybe a surprising word, is at hand when needed.
Charles Lamb had a sizable library, but supposedly kept only a few books within reach which he re-read frequently. And why not? Isn't one of the greatest satisfactions of reading found in spending time with authors whose companionship you enjoy?
I agree with you, and about rereading, that is one of the most important acts in my opinion. To revisit a book, its words and the feelings it provoke, is always magical, and so important for our souls.
Loved this. And I am totally in agreeance with you on the fact of there being some books that are essential and some that are useless.
When I dropped out of school pretty young, this was all part of the reason why I decided to start my own little journey of reading/collecting classic literature too (which is still very much ongoing)
It's all part of that same idea which you express so eloquently here - that books give us a means to connect to both the writer, and to all the other writers that have previously inspired them.
thank you for this. Books are certainly a fabric that can unite us all. It's amazing when we can read something that connects so much with how we feel! And what you mentioned about following your own journey in reading and educating yourself, I think it's an extremely enriching and challenging experience (and for me works better)
A good library is a calm and pleasant gathering of minds and experience—a true symposium of life and living—and it has its own sense and measurement of time, which extends far beyond the culminated years of our daily driven breaths.
Have to admit that my own personal library of books is tiny (just a few dozen). Other than a few favourites, I nearly always give away the books I buy.
It sounds like you're a very conscious reader and not a collector, that's great too! Not everyone collects books, on a large scale, but the important thing is to collect those texts that are important, favorites, that are worth reading!
so true ✨️
i love the baldwin quote you chose.
Commenting on our collections with an old friend a few days ago, he felt pity that I spent most of my reading time with academic papers instead of literary works.
I think there is nothing bad, or to feel pity for, with reading more academic texts than, let's say fiction. I also read a lot of academic papers and books and indeed they are a fundamental part of the kind of reader and thinker we are :)