The Dismantled Library: norman rockwell

Monday, October 14, 2013

The Best of Norman Rockwell

The Best of Norman Rockwell by Norman Rockwell
1984
Weight: 2.2 lbs
Method of Disposal: Donating

Norman Rockwell has never painted in a style I am particularly fond of. I recognize his place in history, and I am impressed by his attention to detail. I see a lot to admire in this book, but I am in the process of moving, and I want to be surrounded by art with vibrant colors. I want art that lingers between abstract and realism. I am sure this coffee table book will find a new home with someone looking for something else. And, unfortunately, it is just another 2 lbs I do not have to carry. This moving situation is getting out of control. Do not be surprised if you never hear from me again because I have been crushed by books that have toppled over on me while I was packing. Good luck to you Norman. I hope your new home is better than your current one, and I am wishing the same luck to myself.

Among the Rubble of Fallen Bookshelves...

I have collected books for as long as I can remember. I worked in bookstores for years before I ended up at the animal shelter. I have gathered words, sentences, punctuation, and cover art to my own detriment. I purchased books before clothes, sometimes instead of food. I can see my childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood sprawled across many shelves and shoved into boxes that sit collecting dust, just waiting for the next big move. I think I am a woman who is afraid of commitment, settling, and stagnation. Yet the things I love most seem to coincide best with a stable, secure, immovable life. I love dogs, books, and often one woman’s company above that of others. The dogs are here for the long haul. They are too wonderful for this world and yet they are essential to it. The woman is complicated. The books are sturdy, durable, constant, perfect, and full of intrigue. They are also very heavy. They are boxes of ounces, pounds, kilograms, weight. We have moved together too many times. Maybe we met at the wrong time in the wrong place, and I have just refused to let go all of this time. I have decided to dismantle this library of thousands of books. What am I holding onto really? I have books I loved, books I hated, books that made me uneasy for weeks, and books that made someone else uneasy for weeks. I have begun to treat these books like objects and not like the magical capsules they are. I am going to give away, sell, donate all of this weight so that others can enjoy it, collect it, share it, and so that I can move more freely through my life. Libraries are where it’s at. The problem: I am terrified to let the books go. We have been together so long and put each other through so much. The only way I can imagine sending them off is if I memorialize each and every one I have left at this moment. This blog is to honor my friends, my enemies, my lovers, my life, and my words as I have collected them through the books I have read and, finally, to move away from them and onto other things. I will never stop loving books. I will never stop reading. I plan only to stop collecting so much material, so much weight.

The Dismantled Library

Monday, October 14, 2013

The Best of Norman Rockwell

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