I'm so glad to hear (1) that you've been an authentic Marjie Alonso since the 1970s, and (2) that you brook no nonsense about books being individual works of art that cannot be compromised.
I agree totally with you: rip them up, read them in nicely portable chunks, make papier mache from them. Use the covers to make junk journals. But don't set them in your personal library where they educate no one else. It's the intellectual's equivalent of mounted heads of hunted animals.
Years ago I worked for a collection development librarian at a university library. I was the person in charge of the disposition of donated books. It gave me a window into people's behavior, including my own, regarding books. It seems like such a win to people to donate their books to a library. But libraries have curated collections. They don't need someone's old copy of A Million Little Pieces or a whole set of the Darkover novels. So we, like most libraries, took a few into the collection, less than 5%. We threw away the worst stuff and put the stuff in the middle into a book sale. And gave people little charitable contribution letters. and then they would get pissed off when they found out their books went into a sale, even though that was in the letter.
But I do understand the urge of not wanting to *waste* a book. Certainly someone wants it! (I use Bookmooch to get rid of mine.)
No wonder you waited until you'd written several posts before confessing to this chilling behaviour. I'm sure there are still people out there who were travelling on your carriage who are still suffering a bit of PTSD (though that probably hadn't been invented back then) after witnessing your book carnage. I was likewise shocked.
This despite working at a school library and witnessing the sad, oh so sad, culling of the fiction books. Boxes and boxes of them. Naturally, as I am not a maniac, I tried to save some of the books by checking them out and reading as many books as possible so that they wouldn't end up in the recycling unread.
I'm kinda pragmatic that way. When I recently packed up my Mum's house in 5 days, I threw a lot of her books in the recycling. I was secretly pleased to finally get rid of the Encyclopedia Britannica...yet still I was shocked by your confession. Then I remembered that it wasn't a library book and felt better. Then i remembered when a bunch of us was backpacking around Europe and we all wanted to read my copy of The Power of One and I recall how we tore the book into several parts.
I feel suitably chastened about my reaction now. Also...I think I need that tea set!
I was quite shocked, Marjie, by your molesting of books on trains, etc, but also quite delighted by the unconventionality of it, if there is such a word. But I’m not such a booky two shoes as my shocked state might imply … I’ve hurled more than one book to the other end of the room because I can’t stomach (or rather, brain) inane writing. I have a house full of books and might just ask my local friendly funeral man, who is somewhat eccentric, to make me a coffin from my books. Never a bored moment down under swiping away bookworms galore. Now *that* would make a nice gruesome Roald Dahl story … although one would never call the bookworms fat. Merely cuddly. Greetings from South Africa.
Can't agree about ripping pages out of books. It's sacrilegious to me. Tearing them apart to make it easier to carry them I could maybe live with, but not ripping out pages and throwing them away. I was genuinely shocked and I don't have any pearls to clutch.
Brave move, kid. Just putting it all out there, huh. Fuck it, why not? Not all art is supposed to make you feel good. I definitely Felt Some Things reading this. Mostly a fascinating dissonance between the part of me that instinctively bucks at the idea of destroying books, which have been my savior so many times, and the part of me that's unapologetically pragmatic and doesn't like to live in a prison of accumulated Stuff. I think a book culling is in my near future. Thank you.
I went to Catholic school for 12 years, eight of which required me to borrow books for all of my grammar school classes, BUT NEVER EVER write in them or use a highlighter. Each of us turned in those books at the end of the year for the next year's students to repeat this gruesome ritual. So I was shocked when I read that you so cavalierly tore out entire pages from books. I am certain the nuns would be rolling in their graves (no pearls available). That image has me has me gleefully searching for books to defile.
Okay. I get the .25 book already being mangled and tossing the pages. But it still skeeves me out a bit. I'm still reeling from finding out that they're changing the words in Roald Dahl's kid's books (which we all know were written more for adults anyway). While the language is terrible, so was Dahl, and the descriptions of the Twits were hilarious and encouraged my kids to read more. Blarg.
Marjie, As you know I really enjoy your writing and I'm like oh wait anxiously your Email Wondering what random topic will be explored this week.. This one however really struck me I could do nothing but smile and Nod my head in agreement. Well said and what a wonderful habit to have acquired so young.
I'm so glad to hear (1) that you've been an authentic Marjie Alonso since the 1970s, and (2) that you brook no nonsense about books being individual works of art that cannot be compromised.
I agree totally with you: rip them up, read them in nicely portable chunks, make papier mache from them. Use the covers to make junk journals. But don't set them in your personal library where they educate no one else. It's the intellectual's equivalent of mounted heads of hunted animals.
This is great. I get tired of book fetishism.
Years ago I worked for a collection development librarian at a university library. I was the person in charge of the disposition of donated books. It gave me a window into people's behavior, including my own, regarding books. It seems like such a win to people to donate their books to a library. But libraries have curated collections. They don't need someone's old copy of A Million Little Pieces or a whole set of the Darkover novels. So we, like most libraries, took a few into the collection, less than 5%. We threw away the worst stuff and put the stuff in the middle into a book sale. And gave people little charitable contribution letters. and then they would get pissed off when they found out their books went into a sale, even though that was in the letter.
But I do understand the urge of not wanting to *waste* a book. Certainly someone wants it! (I use Bookmooch to get rid of mine.)
No wonder you waited until you'd written several posts before confessing to this chilling behaviour. I'm sure there are still people out there who were travelling on your carriage who are still suffering a bit of PTSD (though that probably hadn't been invented back then) after witnessing your book carnage. I was likewise shocked.
This despite working at a school library and witnessing the sad, oh so sad, culling of the fiction books. Boxes and boxes of them. Naturally, as I am not a maniac, I tried to save some of the books by checking them out and reading as many books as possible so that they wouldn't end up in the recycling unread.
I'm kinda pragmatic that way. When I recently packed up my Mum's house in 5 days, I threw a lot of her books in the recycling. I was secretly pleased to finally get rid of the Encyclopedia Britannica...yet still I was shocked by your confession. Then I remembered that it wasn't a library book and felt better. Then i remembered when a bunch of us was backpacking around Europe and we all wanted to read my copy of The Power of One and I recall how we tore the book into several parts.
I feel suitably chastened about my reaction now. Also...I think I need that tea set!
I was quite shocked, Marjie, by your molesting of books on trains, etc, but also quite delighted by the unconventionality of it, if there is such a word. But I’m not such a booky two shoes as my shocked state might imply … I’ve hurled more than one book to the other end of the room because I can’t stomach (or rather, brain) inane writing. I have a house full of books and might just ask my local friendly funeral man, who is somewhat eccentric, to make me a coffin from my books. Never a bored moment down under swiping away bookworms galore. Now *that* would make a nice gruesome Roald Dahl story … although one would never call the bookworms fat. Merely cuddly. Greetings from South Africa.
Can't agree about ripping pages out of books. It's sacrilegious to me. Tearing them apart to make it easier to carry them I could maybe live with, but not ripping out pages and throwing them away. I was genuinely shocked and I don't have any pearls to clutch.
Brave move, kid. Just putting it all out there, huh. Fuck it, why not? Not all art is supposed to make you feel good. I definitely Felt Some Things reading this. Mostly a fascinating dissonance between the part of me that instinctively bucks at the idea of destroying books, which have been my savior so many times, and the part of me that's unapologetically pragmatic and doesn't like to live in a prison of accumulated Stuff. I think a book culling is in my near future. Thank you.
That tea set is gold.
(Psst- "Teaistisms" is missing the "a".)
So practical!!! Plus, you have great friends. Loved the tea set.
I went to Catholic school for 12 years, eight of which required me to borrow books for all of my grammar school classes, BUT NEVER EVER write in them or use a highlighter. Each of us turned in those books at the end of the year for the next year's students to repeat this gruesome ritual. So I was shocked when I read that you so cavalierly tore out entire pages from books. I am certain the nuns would be rolling in their graves (no pearls available). That image has me has me gleefully searching for books to defile.
Bravo, Marjie!!!!!
Hard to know which is better, the post or the video. SUCH A GOOD STORY!
Okay. I get the .25 book already being mangled and tossing the pages. But it still skeeves me out a bit. I'm still reeling from finding out that they're changing the words in Roald Dahl's kid's books (which we all know were written more for adults anyway). While the language is terrible, so was Dahl, and the descriptions of the Twits were hilarious and encouraged my kids to read more. Blarg.
They might want to donate the books to the Prison Book Program.
A daily dose of fuckitol. May the fuck be with you.
Marjie, As you know I really enjoy your writing and I'm like oh wait anxiously your Email Wondering what random topic will be explored this week.. This one however really struck me I could do nothing but smile and Nod my head in agreement. Well said and what a wonderful habit to have acquired so young.