Thursday, February 28, 2008
Books on your shelf
Browsing the web the other day I came across a discussion about books shelved in your home. I can't find the site I was looking at right now, but the point was whether books on your shelf should be titles you have read or not. One person was of the opinion that any books you have shelved out where visitors can see should only be books that you have read from cover to cover. The other person felt that the books should be a reflection of who you are and who you would like to be seen as. I know on the surface the whole things is silly. Still, it made me stop and think about it. What should the books be? What kind of a statement are we making to anyone we invite into our home by what we leave out for them to see? I think we can include coffee table books here too. When you go into someones home and look at the books they have out do you think that they have read them already? Does your opinion of that person change at all by the books you see? Everything in our home is a reflection of us. We take time to choose what colors we paint the walls, what knick knacks to put out, what art to put on the wall, why not think about what books we have too? Damn, now I have to go around and see what I have out...
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Shame you can't find the original site. The person who said books should be a reflection of "who you would like to be seen as" should be soundly beaten if they are implying you should keep out books you haven't read so you can seem well read. If I see books out at a person's home I except,if they haven't read them they fully intend to or they are using them for reference. I guess I'd make the comparison to a person's CD collection. I fully expect someone will have CDs they've actually listened to in their collection. Because otherwise what's the point? Owning something does not magically impart comprehension or knowledge of that item without using, studying, comprehending, or in some way experiencing the item.
Sadly, I think a lot of people believe what you've stated in your last sentence, Wa. A book is just an item, it's a group of papers with on them, bound in a cover. It doesn't become something until the owner picks it up and reads it. Thereafter it might become something completely different to the owner, instead of a collection of papers it's a collection of ideas, experiences and/or emotions.
Post a Comment