On the subjects of books, I am very found of reading the original works, especially period pieces that talk about the life and times as they were happening. Too often history is rewritten to fit current sensibilities and with no concern for the impressions of the time. It is important to read Shakespeare in the original Klingon after all.
I am also reminded of a story concerning ( I believe) Mark Twain. Mr. Twain was sitting in the back of a large lecture hall in which a professor was delivering a lecture concerning all of the hidden meanings and messages that Mark Twain left for us to find. Patiently he waited until the end and students began to ask questions, Mark Twain stood and said,” I didn’t realize I said all that, sounds very interesting, I’ll have to go back and reread myself.”
In building your own library, you can gain a perspective on a subject and a culture that could all disappear with the flick of a computer switch. There have been times when I have pulled a book off my shelves in a discussion to demonstrate the perspective of the time, not just what someone said it was.
My favorite internet Used Book Store!
Read to your children tonight, books make everyone become closer.