I have always imagined Paradise as a kind of library: some books of enduring importance (to me)
If you’ve been about
social media for a while you’ve probably encountered one of these ‘upload six
books to Facebook, no discussion, just covers’ things. There’s the usual
stipulation that you should then tag someone else to do the same. I’ve been
invited/borderline bullied to do these on a number of occasions and I’ve always
resisted, mostly because I just couldn’t be bothered and probably don’t have
the self-discipline to see it through over the course of a week. I’m also unlikely
to be able to narrow it down to just six books.
On New Year’s Eve, prior to the celebrations kicking off, I spent a delightful afternoon restocking the shelves of my personal library. I’ve been working on a research project that has required a rather large amount of reference checking (archaeology is just so glam!) and every time I’ve needed a book, I’ve retrieved it from my ground-floor library and brought it to my garret office. And there it has invariably stayed. My intentions were good – I certainly intended to bring them all back, but I needed them close at hand in case they were required again at short notice. It was only when the piles started to loom and threaten the safety of the resident feline that I realised it was past time to act.
As I found spaces on shelves, moved tomes, and reordered volumes, I discovered several books that would make just such a list of items important to me, not all of which I have the inclination to explain beyond noting their enduring personal significance. As you may expect, the greater part of these are archaeological in nature, or have a twist in that direction. With one exception, I have maintained the instruction to only post covers. I’ve, of course, well exceeded the nominal limit, but let’s not fall out over it, shall we?
On New Year’s Eve, prior to the celebrations kicking off, I spent a delightful afternoon restocking the shelves of my personal library. I’ve been working on a research project that has required a rather large amount of reference checking (archaeology is just so glam!) and every time I’ve needed a book, I’ve retrieved it from my ground-floor library and brought it to my garret office. And there it has invariably stayed. My intentions were good – I certainly intended to bring them all back, but I needed them close at hand in case they were required again at short notice. It was only when the piles started to loom and threaten the safety of the resident feline that I realised it was past time to act.
As I found spaces on shelves, moved tomes, and reordered volumes, I discovered several books that would make just such a list of items important to me, not all of which I have the inclination to explain beyond noting their enduring personal significance. As you may expect, the greater part of these are archaeological in nature, or have a twist in that direction. With one exception, I have maintained the instruction to only post covers. I’ve, of course, well exceeded the nominal limit, but let’s not fall out over it, shall we?
I have no interest in
tagging others to do the same, but I think it might be an interesting
experiment to see the books that have retained importance with other archaeology
types. Thus, I throw the offer open to friends and colleagues – if you would
care to share some books that have special meaning to you, please consider this
an open invitation to contribute!
In the meantime, please
enjoy my selection:
The first portion of
the title of this post is a quote from ‘Poem of the Gifts’ by Jorge Luis Borges.
But, of course, you knew that.
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