HOW TO HAVE A LIFE STYLE
I recently found this wonderful book, How To Have a Life Style, by Quentin Crisp, in my basement, amid the boxes of 20 year old National Geographic magazines and obscure poetry books. I then discovered, after an internet search, that it is a relatively rare book. Not worth pots of money but enough to make me want to hold onto it.
How nice. A rare book. It made me feel as if I had really good taste. I don’t need to call up any of my friends and read them passages, because just about everybody I know already has a very nice lifestyle. And mine isn’t too shabby, either. More shabby chic, in fact.
I then had a fleeting and totally crazy idea that it would be great fun to became a rare book collector, maybe even a rare book dealer. I already saw myself with a pince-nez and a velvet carpet bag, touring estate sales with a list of rare authors in mind.
Luckily, reality gently smacked me in the face, like a old paperback Dashiell Hammett.
a) I already collect enough things and am trying to unload, not collect more.
b) Books are heavy. I would end up hunched over like Quasimodo if I started carrying bags of books around. If I am going to collect anything more (NOT THAT I AM) aprons or handkerchiefs would be a more sensible choice.
c) I am an allergic sort of person and would probably spend more time wheezing than reading, if I did acquire any nice old dusty books.
d) I already have enough unread books sitting around my house in stacks.
and finally
e) for pete’s sake, I have publishers waiting for three books right now! I should be writing, not fantasizing about collecting rare books.
This so NOT How To Have a Life Style….
Ahh.. the allure of old books. I am afraid that my husband is a collector of old and rare books. It is a pretty collection but one that collects far too much dust for my liking.
I love the title of the book. What a find!
Allure. That’s the word. One of my favourite films (and books) is 84 Charing Cross Road. Every time I read it (or watch it) I so want to be Helene Hanff, caught up in this exciting and joyful adventure of seeking the best of old books and words. Alas, I am so overloaded with books that I have not managed to separate the rare and wonderful from the schlock. So Quentin C. was resting next to a ….. well, I don’t want to belittle any book, but not something I remembered buying or was proud to own …… and then on the other side, was a great old detective paperback from the 1940s. I am going to start selling these on Kijiji. Unless I change my mind and become a rare book collector, after all. Thanks for your comments, Megan! I, too, love the title.
Linda