Wonderful, Frank! Another list of ostensibly great books, many of which are out of print and unobtainable in 2010. I am intrigued by how few of the listed book titles remain in our 21st century's collective consciousness. Sadly, these kinds of lists say something profound about our shifting tastes and the cruel realities of publishing markets. Too many worthwhile books are nothing more than footnotes in publishing history, which ought to have the neglected authors rolling over in their graves. The unavailability of so many books certainly irks the hell out of me!
Art, I hope your libraries are better than those in my neck of the woods. Older books are regularly moved out to make room for newer titles; only the most borrowed or best known titles from the past are given an opportunity to wait on the shelves, which means many fine old books have disappeared forever.
This is also why I love Inter-Library Loan. Pretty much anything can be found, if you look hard enough, and have some patience waiting to get it. Then again, the upper Midwest is pretty rich in book people who care, and some of them work at libraries. It doesn't hurt that two of my best friends are librarians; so sometimes you get a little inside help.
Granted, you can't always find everything, and nothing's perfect. And I've usually found everything I really truly wanted to find. Or maybe I've been lucky.
Wonderful, Frank! Another list of ostensibly great books, many of which are out of print and unobtainable in 2010. I am intrigued by how few of the listed book titles remain in our 21st century's collective consciousness. Sadly, these kinds of lists say something profound about our shifting tastes and the cruel realities of publishing markets. Too many worthwhile books are nothing more than footnotes in publishing history, which ought to have the neglected authors rolling over in their graves. The unavailability of so many books certainly irks the hell out of me!
ReplyDeleteThis is why I love libraries.
ReplyDeleteArt, I hope your libraries are better than those in my neck of the woods. Older books are regularly moved out to make room for newer titles; only the most borrowed or best known titles from the past are given an opportunity to wait on the shelves, which means many fine old books have disappeared forever.
ReplyDeleteThis is also why I love Inter-Library Loan. Pretty much anything can be found, if you look hard enough, and have some patience waiting to get it. Then again, the upper Midwest is pretty rich in book people who care, and some of them work at libraries. It doesn't hurt that two of my best friends are librarians; so sometimes you get a little inside help.
ReplyDeleteGranted, you can't always find everything, and nothing's perfect. And I've usually found everything I really truly wanted to find. Or maybe I've been lucky.