“… at least resolve, while you remain in any settled residence, to spend a certain number of hours every day amongst your books…”
—Samuel Johnson to James Boswell, in Boswell, Life of Samuel Johnson
“Amongst” could mean reading, or rereading, skimming, organizing shelves, or remembering what I’ve actually got or collected. For example, each day, look at one shelf of one bookcase and see what is there—what have I read, what haven’t I touched in years (decades)—now I’m looking at the first shelf of all Germany-related books (which has three-and-a-half shelves) from my seat at the dining table—after this writing, I will go spend five minutes perusing that shelf, seeing what my inclinations are—perhaps I will want to return to Goethe or Thomas Mann!. This activity would be a fine Beeminder: five minutes, perusing as a prelude to some further engagement, immediately, sooner, later. Add up the minutes, day after day. (Instead of watching another YouTube on political manias, inspect my shelves!) I might find something tucked away in an Arendt book’s pages…I could realize “Andrew would like this book more than I need it” … I may decide on the spot to write a response to something in one of Brecht’s plays to post at my website… I could make a mental note to sell via Subterranean a book that has no marks. Too late now to be a self-hating bibliophile—I’ve made my library, now I get to sleep amid it! Recognize this wealth, and share it, in one form or another, with others. A recent example—With Gratitude for Rexroth
