Book culling

[rhu]

As part of our cleaning the house for Pesach, introverte and I decided it was time to cull enough books from our living room shelves so that each remaining book could fit vertically directly on a shelf. We're not getting rid of any books, mind you, just migrating some of them to the "deep stacks" in the attic.

Still, this is a remarkably depressing process. It was probably about 100 books. Most of my typography books -- I just don't use them anymore. About half my collection of orchestral scores -- yeah, I was a music major, but.... (Bach got an almost complete reprieve, but otherwise if it wasn't pulled off the shelf in recent memory out it went.) About fifty sefarim and Judaica books.

These books were bought because I wanted the knowledge they contained to become a part of who I am. And by culling them, I am acknowledging that I will never completely become the person that I aspired to be twenty years ago.

Comments

[violetcheetah.livejournal.com]

perhaps the person you have become in the last 20 years is better than the person you aspired to be. not that that means you don't get to grieve a bit for the road not taken. i just know that i like who you've become, so i'm glad you became that.

and, you know, in only 15 years, your kids will be in college and you can pick up where you left off, right? because everyone knows how well that works. but i tell myself something similar when i think about how long it's been since i did any "real" writing.

[vettecat.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've pretty much accepted that I'll never be able to read everything I want to read, either. (sigh)