Three More Thoughts on How to Build an Awesome Personal Library from a Grumpy Old Bookseller
It’s easier than you think
A few months ago, I wrote two articles focused on the wonderful hobby/lifelong pursuit that is book collecting. The first focused on how to get started collecting books and the second offered five thoughts on building an awesome personal library. I was encouraged by the response to both stories; it meant that people still care about books and collecting them in this mad digital world.
I thought that with those two stories I had said all I had to say on the subject, foolishly forgetting that with books (as with Jesus and Springsteen) there is always more to say. One of those things is something I said in both previous articles, but at the end rather than at the beginning where it belongs: collect what you love.
Having beautiful leather-bound volumes of timeless classics looks great in an Instagram photo, but if the books don’t mean anything to you (and especially if you’ll never read them), then they are nothing but expensive decorations. The books we own or at least should be, a reflection of who we are, not a museum exhibit meant to impress our friends while collecting dust. With that in mind, here are three more thoughts from a grumpy old bookseller on building an awesome personal library.
