In the previous blog post I mentioned my bookshelves as something that I invest time in keeping organized, and described briefly my organizational method. There are of course many different ways to organize things, books perhaps provide even more possibilities than many other things (say silverware etc.). I remember that Tatiana said that she keeps her books in alphabetical order by author. You could also organize them by size, title, publication date, purchase date, or by any number of other criteria. However, because of the nature of atoms as Weinberger says you do have to choose a single place for physical objects. So how do you figure out where? Do our thoughts shape our organization, or does our organization shape our thoughts as Weinberger suggests (70-1). Perhaps it is a little of both, but if so what does an individual’s organizational preference say about them?
Well, if someone were to try to gain a better understanding of my personality through my books, they would probably have more luck considering their contents than the order I keep them in. That said here are a few things that the order that I have created might tell them:
Often the books are grouped by type of cover (paper or hard) and size, ergo physical aesthetics are something I think about.
The majority of my books are kept in my bedroom which might suggest that they are important personal objects that I like to have close at hand.
There are stacks of books in front of other books, and many shelves are stuffed to the top with books. So, obviously I purchase books even when I have little room for them. Perhaps I am either a compulsive book shopper or an avid reader… or both.
The lack of alphabetical, or hard and fast genre groupings, along with the fact that many books are not immediately visible would suggest that I'm the sole browser and that I’m not particularly concerned with other people being able to easily locate particular books.
Borrowed books are kept easily visible, suggesting that for me out of sight is out of mind (at least as far as minding due dates goes).
But would an observer be inclined towards these conclusions or are my guesses biased by my perspective? It’s hard to say, maybe I’ll ask around.
I like your idea of where they're stored, I think that, too, says a lot about what we think of objects. Most of my books are in my office in Avery Hall. Hmmm.
ReplyDeleteWell, maybe it means that you spend too much time in your office?
ReplyDeletereally interesting analysis. I liked how you kinda fleshed out this metaphor to apply to this specific blog post. great job.
ReplyDelete