I'm sure you've all had this experience many time: some (non-bookish) person comes to your house, they say, "Wow, you have a lot of books!" and then they ask, "Have you read them all?" Here is how author Luc Sante answers that:
Over the years I've gotten used to the inevitable questions about my accumulation of books. No, I haven't read all of them, nor do I intend to -- in some cases that's not the point. No, I'm not a lawyer (a question usually asked by couriers, back in the days of couriers). I do have a few hundred books that I reread or consult fairly regularly, and I have a lot of books pertaining to whatever current or future projects I have on the fire, and I have many, many books speculatively pointing toward some project that is still barely a gleam in my eye. I have a lot of books that I need for reference, especially now that I live 40 minutes away from the nearest really solid library. I have some books that exist in the same capacity as the more recondite tools in the chest of a good carpenter -- you may not need it more than once in 20 years, but it's awfully nice to have it there when you do. Primarily, though, books function as a kind of external hard drive for my mind -- my brain isn't big enough to do all the things it wants or needs to do without help.
I must try the "external hard drive" metaphor the next time I get asked that question.
via The Book Bench
