Books That Go With Other Books

So, one of the definite keepers from the book-sort is IF ON A WINTER'S NIGHT A TRAVELLER by Italo Calvino [1979; tr. 1981]. I've read this at least twice (three times, I think) and will no doubt at some point read it again. In short, I like this book. So while some other books of his (which I only got because I liked this one and have never gotten around to reading in the quarter-century since) are likely to go out the door, this one's a keeper.

For those who haven't ever read it, it's the story of a man who wants to read a book called IF, ON A WINTER'S NIGHT, A TRAVELLER but who finds events conspire against his reading more than a single chapter at a time. And that furthermore each time he tries again he winds up reading a different opening chapter (different copy, different setting, different plot, different characters, different genre), obviously from some other book. It's a surreal reflection on books and reading, both thoughtful and a hoot. Here's one bit from early on, in which the reader is entering a bookstore to buy Calvino's new book,  If on a winter's night a traveler ("Good for you" the author interjects). But first, the reader must navigate past the many categories of books that stand in the way:

Books You Haven't Read

Books You Needn't Read

Books Made For Purposes Other Than Reading

Books Read Even Before You Open Them Since They Belong To The Category Of Books Read Before Being Written

Books That If You Had More Than One Life You Would Certainly Read But Unfortunately Your Days Are Numbered

Books You Mean To Read But There Are Others You Must Read First

Books Too Expensive Now And You'll Wait Till They're Remaindered

Books ditto When They Come Out In Paperback

Books You Can Borrow From Somebody

Books That Everybody's Read So It's As If You Had Read Them, Too

Books You've Been Planning To Read For Ages

Books You've Been Hunting For Years Without Success

Books Dealing With Something You're Working On At The Moment

Books You Want To Own So They'll Be Handy Just In Case

Books You Could Put Aside Maybe To Read This Summer

Books You Need to Go With Other Books On Your Shelves

Books That Fill You With Sudden, Inexplicable Curiosity, Not Easily Justified

Books Read Long Ago Which It's Now Time To Reread

Books You've Always Pretended To Have Read And Now It's Time To Sit Down And Really Read Them

New Books Whose Author Or Subject Appeals To You

New Books By Authors Or On Subjects Not New

New Books By Authors Or On Subjects Completely Unknown (at least to you)

Of these, I have to admit the following particularly spoke to me: 

—Books That If You Had More Than One Life You Would Certainly Read But Unfortunately Your Days Are Numbered (ain't it the truth?)

—Books You Mean To Read But There Are Others You Must Read First (I'm actually pretty good about passing these by)

—Books You Want To Own So They'll Be Handy Just In Case (previously the source of many books now in boxes; getting better on this one)

—Books That Fill You With Sudden, Inexplicable Curiosity, Not Easily Justified (does Calvino know his audience or what? the true impulse buy: just because)

—Books Read Long Ago Which It's Now Time To Reread (a major category which only grows with time, alas)

There's also a major category I've recently become aware played a large role in overfilling on our shelves: the idea that, if I like a book by writer X, I shd buy more books by writer X (sometimes many more), which I then don't get around to reading for years on end. Sometimes just about everything by a writer is good (or at least worth reading), sometimes a writer only has one or two good books in him (or her).  This is where a lot of the current slow purge is underway.

Of course, for those who are hardcore overbuyers, there's always BIBLIOHOLISM: THE LITERARY ADDICTION, by Tom Raabe (1991)

--John R.

current reading: BRIDE OF THE RAT-GOD by Barbara Hambly (which is far better than its title wd suggest) and GREEN SUNS AND FAERIE by Verlyn Flieger (which is by Verlyn Flieger, who just seems to get better and better).