There is this game, you know about it of course. It’s the Desert Island Whatever… books, records, movies…

The idea is, you are stranded on a desert island, what books (or records, or movies) do you bring with you?

Now, let’s look at the thing from another perspective: you are sitting in a room filled with books, just like the one in which I’m sitting, and in a short while, say two or three weeks, you will have to take it to the road, and you’ll be able to carry with you just a small box filled with books, that you’ll be able to park somewhere – your uncle’s house, for instance.
All the rest you will have to leave behind.
What do you take with you?

I’ve been playing this game, that is still just a game, in the last few days, and it’s as hard as hell.
Because if you are a book lover, and you grew up with books, you have a connection with each and every book in your library, and losing them, or leaving them behind, is a soul-rending experience.
But anyway, let’s play the game. Continue reading →