I recently found a new home for about two hundred volumes from my collection, mostly history books I no longer reference and others I simply haven’t picked up in years. I’m glad to know they will be read and appreciated rather than remain untouched on my shelves.
Someone suggested that I sell them online. Sensible enough, I suppose, but I have neither the soul nor the instincts of a merchant. The thought of hawking and bargaining over books acquired through a lifetime of interests holds no appeal for me. Better that they pass freely into the hands of someone who values their contents than be reduced to so many little transactions.
This is hardly the end of my library. I’m keeping the books I still read, cite, and value. What will eventually become of those remains an open question.
Still, there is something reassuring about seeing part of the collection move on. Their future, at least, is no longer mine to worry about.
~ By Giovanni di Napoli, September 30th, Feast Day of San Girolamo
