tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000858382516594426.post7205285133631225871..comments2023-10-06T08:10:05.853-04:00Comments on Necromancy Never Pays: The Library at NightJeannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01374498643286099244noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000858382516594426.post-4239086979806772772010-07-12T16:18:56.406-04:002010-07-12T16:18:56.406-04:00Care, I think we're going to do the Manguel no...Care, I think we're going to do the Manguel non-canonical challenge in a disorganized long-term way around here. Because grad school really erased any inclinations I might have had towards organized/assigned reading.<br /><br />And of course we're providing both kids with a "seed library"! I'll have to share that term with them.Jeannehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01374498643286099244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000858382516594426.post-90549585552033720502010-07-12T09:25:32.812-04:002010-07-12T09:25:32.812-04:00Love the comments, too. As someone who has move...Love the comments, too. As someone who has moved so much that the concept of owning a library makes me envious but committed to defend my life choices anyway, I do hope you allow your children to have a seed-library shelf or two that they can eventually build from and up into their own life-history libraries.Carehttp://bkclubcare.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000858382516594426.post-36324041706593455842010-07-12T09:18:59.261-04:002010-07-12T09:18:59.261-04:00the Manguel non-canonical Challenge! Do it, do it...the Manguel non-canonical Challenge! Do it, do it, do it.Carehttp://bkclubcare.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000858382516594426.post-88119908855570030692010-07-11T22:13:22.779-04:002010-07-11T22:13:22.779-04:00@lemming: I've never been a bathtub reader my...@lemming: I've never been a bathtub reader myself, but I've ruined a few books in sinks over the years. Technology is power, what the military terms a "force multiplier," and thus more can be done for good or ill with it. Which is to say, if you drop your Kindle in the bathtub, you can destroy a hundred books at once.<br /><br />But I think the Kindle works like iTunes: your Kindle is toast, but if you get a replacement you can re-download your books.Ron Griggshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00766380813507215810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000858382516594426.post-19576862046368567582010-07-11T20:05:14.095-04:002010-07-11T20:05:14.095-04:00Ron - what happens when you drop the kindle in the...Ron - what happens when you drop the kindle in the bathtub?lemminghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06767103318863906140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000858382516594426.post-37002037330486469592010-07-10T16:31:39.034-04:002010-07-10T16:31:39.034-04:00PAJ, ha! In fact Eleanor has recently started fre...PAJ, ha! In fact Eleanor has recently started fretting about needing to own her own copy of beloved household favorites (Harry Potter, Narnia, Prydain, etc.) when she goes off to college.Jeannehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01374498643286099244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000858382516594426.post-69193793401020828902010-07-10T15:29:43.714-04:002010-07-10T15:29:43.714-04:00Ron, I laughed aloud at your comment to FreshHell....Ron, I laughed aloud at your comment to FreshHell. As you and Jeanne contemplate the kids leaving for college, I can just imagine the scenario: Ron (with meaningful look): "The children will be leaving soon. You know what that means?" Jeanne: "Yes, darling. More bookshelf space!"PAJnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000858382516594426.post-57711629787354885562010-07-07T21:06:12.619-04:002010-07-07T21:06:12.619-04:00@Harriet: Yes, I really loved this book. Note the...@Harriet: Yes, I really loved this book. Note the range of things commenters have mentioned: the Biblioburro, Pepys' book lifts (@Jenny: doubly fun because Pepys himself was 5'3" and thus sympathetic to his more diminutive volumes), and Andrew Carnegie's library philanthropy. I'm glad Manguel writes so beautifully for my reading delight and equally glad he isn't actually in charge of a real library.<br /><br />@FreshHell: Children's books *always* count. Sometimes the most! As an inveterate re-reader, I make no apologies for the joy I get from re-reading children's books. And sadly, most libraries have to (or will have to) reach that steady state of zero population growth at some point in their history. Public libraries understand this, but academic libraries don't like to imagine it. Fortunately for us, our children will go to college in the next few years, creating more possible space for shelves.<br /><br />@Lemming: One of the few charms of the Kindle (for me) is the ability to store hundreds of books that I want to hold onto in some way, but don't have in a beautifully bound edition. My cheesy paperback of Robinson Crusoe would be just fine sharing a Kindle with about a thousand other similar books. The future for the shelf space challenged?<br /><br />@Nymeth: I had somewhat the same reaction when reading Herodotus' Histories; he was the first ancient writer that really came through as a real person to me, but he was so garrulous I kept thinking "Get to the point, will you!"<br /><br />@Trapunto: Well said. He takes his role as a social critic almost to the point of character assassination, which is a form of intellectual self-indulgence.Ron Griggshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00766380813507215810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000858382516594426.post-61430041237481006232010-07-07T19:17:19.185-04:002010-07-07T19:17:19.185-04:00"Seldom fails to have an immoderate reaction...."Seldom fails to have an immoderate reaction."<br /><br />I think you may have verbalized the thing that has been making me uneasy as I read this book. The combination of erudition and preferentiality<br /><br />I took an extend breather after the Andrew Carnegie chapter. Yes, feet of clay, all that, but Manguel was playing fast and loose with my hero! There are other ways to look at the fact that Carnegie provided buildings, not books. I always understood it as a bootstrap thing. Getting together the resources for a building was beyond the scope of a lot of communities, but once they'd been given that boost (and a rallying point) it became their job rally and build the collection and back the institution. I also disagree about the design. They are functional design, for what small public libraries were at the time, and I've seen them remodeled and addition-ed so that they are still functional.<br /><br />Regarding digital preservation. Have you read the Nicholson Baker book he mentions? I recommend it to anyone who can stand it.<br /><br />I have my "top hundred reads" list (actually a few more). I've been thinking of posting it.Trapuntohttp://villanegativa.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000858382516594426.post-16147016516036228612010-07-07T18:13:52.936-04:002010-07-07T18:13:52.936-04:00I've flipped through this but not read the ent...I've flipped through this but not read the entire thing - I did notice he seemed extremely distrustful of some technology! But I loved the story of how someone (Pepys maybe?) used to put little high heels underneath his shorter books, so that all the books on his shelf would be the same height. :)Jennyhttp://jennysbooks.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000858382516594426.post-15186492246946844542010-07-07T13:11:17.658-04:002010-07-07T13:11:17.658-04:00"It reminds me of being cornered at a party b..."It reminds me of being cornered at a party by a genial, funny, genuinely entertaining fellow." I love this analogy! And I'm now sad because my edition of the book does not have the list at the end :\Ana S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/16092495983972185943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000858382516594426.post-67274970467737774542010-07-07T13:07:15.066-04:002010-07-07T13:07:15.066-04:00FreshHell raises a good point - if you're a fa...FreshHell raises a good point - if you're a family,you need to take into account the 70 books that *you* might never read but that your spouse will.<br /><br />Read an essay years ago about how to cull your library. Step #1 was to start with the trade paperbacks. OK, I suppose my Agatha Christie could go, but what about all of the children's classics that somehow stopped being classic enough to be in print?<br /><br />It was humbling to discover that we owned more than 1300 pounds of books...lemminghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06767103318863906140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000858382516594426.post-89160025459664244252010-07-07T10:32:36.536-04:002010-07-07T10:32:36.536-04:00Interesting. I have no idea how many books we have...Interesting. I have no idea how many books we have (do the children's count?). I've also been winnowing here and there so that there's nearly a zero population growth to some degree.FreshHellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13051170717740487431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000858382516594426.post-23849442636809511162010-07-07T08:50:39.558-04:002010-07-07T08:50:39.558-04:00I'm so glad you liked this. Mr. Spy came home...I'm so glad you liked this. Mr. Spy came home from the library with it a couple of years ago as part of something he was working on and I adored it. I ended up giving it to my mom for Christmas. We all enjoyed reading it, but our collective favorite thing about it was the photo of the library burro. I'm not sure I could come up with such a list (nor am I sure what 1% of our books would be). But I love reading other people's lists. I'm more interested in how people make lists than the lists themselves, I think.Harriet M. Welschhttp://spynotes.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.com