By Barbara Russek
Since Covid isolation began I’ve been intrigued by various tv personalities broadcasting from their dens and living rooms, surrounded by bookshelves crammed to capacity. Each time I observe such an intellectual ambiance, I find myself asking the same two rhetorical questions:
*When was the last time you opened one of those books?
*Why do you keep those books?
Some possible responses come to mind:
Maybe your home came with built-ins and was a good fit for obsolete texts from your university days and you still have an emotional attachment to them.
Perhaps you want to communicate that you are an erudite member of society, as opposed to being part of the great unwashed and unread.
Or perhaps the best reason of all…you keep them because you have read them and really love them!
Whatever the reasons, they’re all good. In this technological age, nothing equals the smell, feel and knowledge aboutthe owner inherent in a book on their shelf.
