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Alberto Manguel's Library
Take a peek inside Alberto Manguel's library at the New York Times. Here's a delightful excerpt:
Like every library, mine will eventually exceed the space allotted to it. Barely seven years after setting it up, it has already spread into the main body of the house, which I had hoped to keep free of bookshelves. Travelogues, books on music and film, anthologies of various kinds now cover the walls of several rooms. My detective novels fill one of the guest bedrooms, known now by friends and family as the Murder Room. There is a story by Julio Cortázar, “House Taken Over,” in which a brother and sister are forced to move from room to room as something unnamed occupies, inch by inch, their entire house, eventually forcing them out into the street.
I foresee a day in which my books, like that anonymous invader, will complete their gradual conquest. I will then be banished to the garden, but knowing the way of books, I fear that even that seemingly safe place may not be entirely beyond my library’s hungry ambition.
The article also features a photograph of part of his massive library. Just looking at this picture makes me happy.
He's got Harry Potter!
Posted by:SFP | 2008.05.16 at 03:55
Umm, yeah, that's what my library looks like...in my dreams anyway. Well, the part about the books taking over is actually true. Someday I'm sure we'll all be displaced by books in my house...at the rate I'm going. Nice quote!
Posted by:Danielle | 2008.05.16 at 10:43
How I'd love to paw through his shelves! The old table and the big candle and candlestick are a nice touch.
Posted by:Stefanie | 2008.05.17 at 05:56
Susan, can you see Harry Potter there?
Danielle, it is rather alarming to look at our full shelves and realize that we have decades of book-buying ahead of us!
Stefanie, I like the library reading lights too.
Posted by:Sylvia | 2008.05.17 at 11:18
I didn't even notice the lights! They are nice. Unobtrusive yet pretty when you notice them :)
Posted by:Stefanie | 2008.05.17 at 11:41
Oh, he's got my dream library! Thanks for posting the pic.
Posted by:Theresa | 2008.05.17 at 13:44
Oh, you have to have bookshelves in every room! A room wouldn't be interesting without them. Not that I do - yet. Whenever I want to play the piano, it takes several minutes to unload the piles of books from the piano bench - and so it goes throughout the house.
Posted by:Bonnie | 2008.05.18 at 03:19
Happy, yes. Gaspingly envious, even more so. Can happiness and envy co-exist?
Posted by:Tony | 2008.05.18 at 09:04
You're welcome, Theresa. :)
I agree, Bonnie, every room must have books!
I don't know Tony, I fear the tenth commandment might apply... ;)
Posted by:Sylvia | 2008.05.18 at 09:17
Love his (public) library-esque table, lamps, and open-book stands.
Posted by:wil | 2008.05.18 at 15:41
Yes, a table like that is a pleasant invitation to perusal.
Posted by:Sylvia | 2008.05.18 at 18:02