E-Reader Hoarder: An attempt to justify my fascination by digital reading devices
Archaeology of my bookshelf
Many people hoard books. And believe me: I went through that phase. There are almost archaeological layers of books in my library, reflecting what was interesting to me at different times: the oldest layer is my children’s books, especially some comics. The next are kids’ encyclopaedias. Oh, some of the images on the covers of these books have stuck in my mind: like a space shuttle or a big medieval castle. I would go through page after page, reading and imagining (medieval tortures, sword-guns, space). On the other hand, fiction wasn’t really my cup of tea (or a cup of cocoa at the time).
Later, when I had some pocket money, I discovered a second-hand bookshop near my house. The first books I bought there were, of course, encyclopaedias, like a hyper-specific one on some WW2 planes. No children’s stuff, and they never inspired me that much, but they are still a layer in my library. And there were some intriguing old books there too. I picked one and that was the beginning of my fascination with them. At that time I was not very interested in their content, but I loved them and started to get them as presents: There is an old edition of some fake medieval Czech poetry created in the 19th century to boost our nationalist feelings, there…
