Member: kaixo

CollectionsYour library (1,525), Wishlist (9), Currently reading (13), To read (19), Have read (476), Read but unowned (5), Favorites (36), All collections (1,539)

Reviews2 reviews

Tagsread (480), Literatur (408), fiction (379), non-fiction (369), literature (343), Japan (237), japanische Literatur (101), Geschichte (97), Informatik (97), Erzählungen (91) — see all tags

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GroupsAsian Fiction & Non-Fiction, Erlesenes Deutschland, German Library Thingers, Japanese Culture, Japanese Literature, Language, Literary Snobs, Mathematics, Photography, Purely Programmers — show all groups , Tea!

Favorite authorsPaul Auster, Alan Booth, Julio Cortázar, E. E. Cummings, Max Frisch, Franz Kafka, Yasunari Kawabata, Donald E. Knuth, Gabriel García Márquez, Yukio Mishima, Haruki Murakami, Cees Nooteboom, Fernando Pessoa, Jiro Taniguchi, Yoshihiro Tatsumi (Shared favorites)

Favorite bookstoresAnakoluth, Literarische Buchhandlung, Antiquariat Fundus, Bücherbogen am Savignyplatz (Stadtbahnbogen 593), Bücherstube Marga Schoeller, Grober Unfug, Internationaler Comicladen, Knesebeck Elf, Buchhandlung Leo Baumann

Favorite librariesZentral- und Landesbibliothek Berlin, Haus Amerika-Gedenkbibliothek

About my library»A second shock of banality occurs to many people in my condition—that is, people who possess a fairly sizable library (large enough in my case that someone entering our house can't help but notice it; actually it takes up the whole place). The visitor enters and says, “What a lot of books! Have you read them all?” At first I thought that the question characterized only people who had scant familiarity with books, people accustomed to seeing a couple of shelves with five paperback mysteries and children's encyclopaedia, bought in installments. But experience has taught me that the same words can be uttered also by people above suspicion. It could be said that they are still people who consider a bookshelf as a mere storage place for already-read books and do not think of the library as a working tool. But there is more to it than that. I believe that, confronted by a vast array of books, anyone will be seized by the anguish of learning, and will inevitably lapse into asking the question that expresses his torment and his remorse.

»The problem is that when someone says, “Eco? You're the one who always answers,” you can reply with a little laugh and, at most, if you want to be polite, with “That's a good one!” But the question about your books has to be answered, while your jaw stiffens and rivulets of cold sweat trickle down your spine. In the past I adopted a tone of contemptuous sarcasm. “I haven't read any of them; otherwise, why would I keep them here?” But this is a dangerous answer because it invites the obvious follow-up: “And where do you put them after you've read them?” The best answer is the one always used by Roberto Leydi: “And more, dear sir, many more,” which freezes the adversary and plunges him into a state of awed admiration. But I find it merciless and angst-generating. Now I have fallen on the riposte: “No, these are the ones I have to read by the end of the month, I keep the others in my office,” a reply that on the one hand suggests a sublime ergonomic strategy, and on the other leads the visitor to hasten the moment of his departure.«

— Umberto Eco, How to Justify a Private Library, 1990

Membership LibraryThing Early Reviewers/Member Giveaway

LocationBerlin, Germany

Account typepublic, lifetime

Connection NewsConnection News

URLs http://www.librarything.com/profile/kaixo (profile)
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/kaixo (library)

Common KnowledgeSeries (87), Awards (169), Characters (1378), Places (296)

Member sinceAug 22, 2006

Currently readingDie Kanji lernen und behalten. Bedeutung und Schreibweise der japanischen Schriftzeichen by James W. Heisig
Landscapes & Portraits by Donald Keene
Working Effectively with Legacy Code (Robert C. Martin Series) by Michael Feathers
Emperor of Japan by Donald Keene
Programming in Scala: A Comprehensive Step-by-step Guide by Martin Odersky
Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship (Robert C. Martin Series) by Robert C. Martin
Über die Demokratie in Amerika by Alexis de Tocqueville
Japanese Paintings in the Ashmolean Museum by Janice Katz
Prophet of Innovation: Joseph Schumpeter and Creative Destruction by Thomas K. McCraw
Die japanische Sprache: Geschichte und Struktur by Roy Andrew Miller
Why Programs Fail, Second Edition: A Guide to Systematic Debugging by Andreas Zeller
Ten Nights of Dream by Soseki Natsume
Agile Testing: A Practical Guide for Testers and Agile Teams by Lisa Crispin
show all (13)