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PowellsBooks.Blog
Authors, readers, critics, media − and booksellers.

Rare Books

Finis

by Kirsten Berg, May 5, 2010 1:07 PM
"One's life is more formed, I sometimes think, by books than by human beings; it is out of books one learns about love and pain at second hand."

—Graham Greene, Travels with My Aunt

I've been thinking about the great reading experiences I've enjoyed in the last few months. What makes a reader? Is it the ability to sit quietly and fall completely into a narrative? Is it the genuine enthusiasm that we feel when we hand a book to a friend and say, "You've got to read this!"?

What makes a book collector? Love of the reading experience, love of a particular author, love of a single title? A bit of madness can't hurt. Surely the answer has more to do with emotions — desire, yearning, delight — one usually associates with sex or food. It is not a surfeit of money or shelf space that compels us.

I've been thinking also of the generation growing up with eBooks, with the Kindle and iPhone and online gaming and the social network of Facebook. Most likely, most will grow to find real friends beyond the portal of computer screens and text messages; how many will discover the book?

There have been many memorable partings in history and in literature. Some were melodramatic, some overwrought, and a precious few that were perfect. This is my last bi-weekly posting on the subject of rare books for the "pages" of Powells.com. Thanks for reading.




Books mentioned in this post

Gentle Madness Bibliophiles Bibliomanes & the Eternal Passion for Books

Nicholas A Basbanes

Gone with the Wind

Margaret Mitchell, Pat Conroy

End Of The Affair

Graham Greene

Travels with My Aunt Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition

Graham Greene

Romeo & Juliet

William Shakespeare
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17 Responses to "Finis"

Jesse May 13, 2010 at 07:15 PM
How disappointing! Your writing was always a good reminder that there is more to these old tomes than leather and paper. I'll miss your blog!

Paige May 9, 2010 at 01:15 PM
What the? No! Your words are such a unique and essential part of the Powell's blog, Kirsten. I loved your bi-weekly posts. Reminded me of why Powell's is a cut above the rest...that they value all the fascinating intricacies of books and employ people whose love of books has an appreciated outlet. Come back!

Juliet May 8, 2010 at 01:22 PM
Sorry your blog got canceled! Miss you!

Ali May 8, 2010 at 09:48 AM
I'm sorry, but this is unacceptable. Kirsten obviously has enormous passion and knowledge for her job. I can't imagine this being her decision to suddenly quit writing the blog. I'm wondering if this is a marketing decision for the following reasons: Rare books take time. Time = research + effort. Research & effort mean the books are going to be higher priced. Higher prices = slower sales. Slower sales are enough to justify 1) stopping the company purchase of rare books, & 2) stopping a blog that may or may not be linked to the sales of rare books. I'd like to ask marketing a question: is there research to support anyone else's blogs at Powells being directly linked to an increase in sales? I'd really like to know this. If it's true, I'll shut my mouth. If it's false, there's no reason Kirsten should stop her blog. It's entertaining and she has quite a following, even if her followers don't always comment to let Powells know of their presence. Look at it this way, marketing: at least people are flocking to Powells.com to read her blog. No blog = less flocking to powells.com = less traffic to the website = lower sales. Lower sales in a capitalist economy during a recession = well, you guys are smart enough to understand what I'm saying. Bring back this blog. It's the only one interesting enough to subscribe to anyway.

Carlam May 7, 2010 at 06:29 PM
I will miss this blog too.. It's always been one of my greatest pleasures to discover a new post from you.. "Sigh"

Curtis Jacobson May 7, 2010 at 03:53 PM
What? You can't go! I'm so confused and saddened, and a little angry too. This column has become the main reason I visit powells.com (although sometimes I surf around and buy books). I can't tell you how many times I've mentioned your blog to my book-loving friends. Your enthusiasm has encouraged me to build my own library and to explore/collect more esoteric titles. Now I feel like Powells is turning its back on us. Kirsten, I hope there's a good side to this story that you're not telling us. Are you moving this blog to somewhere you'll have a bigger audience and more frequent essays? Taking it to a "real" magazine perhaps? I really hope you'll keep writing. I'll be Google-ing your name and expecting great things!

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