Marie Kondo and Books' Debate
Marie Kondo and the book controversy.
There’s incoming and outgoing traffic. We buy books all the time, so we clear bookshelves to welcome new kids on the block, just arrived from bookstores. That is why we take old books to the local library, used books’ outlets, Salvation Army/Goodwill stores, donate them to seniors’ homes or non-profit organisations or drop them in the garbage bin.
We should also own up that we don’t finish all books. If visitors walked in, picked up a few from
my mini-library, would I, from the top of my head, tell them the plots, characters,
what I liked or did not like and endings of the books they are holding? I don’t think so. Truth be told.
Which books do we discard, which ones do we keep? There is poetry, romance, historical romance, chick-lit, suspense, horror, science fiction,
memoirs, history books, speciality books about vintage cars etc.
I have never watched her show nor read her books, but she
seems to have garnered likes and dislikes about her decision to limit her books
to 30.
The debate should also include reading. Have we read the books we keep, if not, do we
have any intention of revisiting them somewhere down the road? If not, why do we keep them? Then there is the question of space, which is
in short supply even for the Queen of England in Buckingham Palace and other cottages
she owns. There’s incoming and outgoing traffic. We buy books all the time, so we clear bookshelves to welcome new kids on the block, just arrived from bookstores. That is why we take old books to the local library, used books’ outlets, Salvation Army/Goodwill stores, donate them to seniors’ homes or non-profit organisations or drop them in the garbage bin.
We should also own up that we don’t finish all books. If visitors walked in, picked up a few from
my mini-library, would I, from the top of my head, tell them the plots, characters,
what I liked or did not like and endings of the books they are holding? I don’t think so. Truth be told.
Future reference. That
is the reason why I keep some books. A
good example is Barack Obama’s book, The
Audacity of Hope. I understood his
first book, Dreams from My father but i hobbled along with
the Audacity of Hope until I hit a cul-de-sac.
I kept it because it is about U.S. politics, which is complicated for
someone who does not live there.
Enter Michelle Obama’s memoir Becoming. It cleared some
cobwebs about voting, campaigning and Washington. That enabled me to dust The Audacity of Hope
and turn its pages again.
Book burning has an ugly history used by governments,
religion and apartheid to oppress the mind.
That is why it’s very emotional for some folks.
By: Nonqaba waka
Msimang.
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