Dad had a modest library. I kept some of the classics, some history and most of his art books. He also had a collection of German books, including school books from his parents. The latter collection merits further discussion in future post. In the end I kept about 160 books. The rest, about 600, were donated to a local charity.
Bookshelves are an interesting archive. Ostensibly to hold books, in the family setting, they frequently hold so much more: photographs; pictures; knick-knacks; CDs; Videos, etc.
As I went through the books, I made a few observations. First, the books were sorted by author. Second, we shared an interest in spy novels, le Carré and Deighton in particular. Few, if any, business books.
My assumption is a collection would reflect ones interests, unless they are a collector and there in lies a profit motive or that of satisfying the need to accumulate. My father was not one of these. However, it remains unclear as to the extent to which the collection is a reflection of his interests vs. those of his late wife. He did have several of my travel books.
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