The Buyers' Itch

I was never in the business of collecting books, but they kept piling up, as I picked one book here and another there and before I could say, William Shakespeare, there were hundreds. When you have so many books, you have to keep them and look after them lovingly, as you look after your children and grandchildren, for somehow they become a part of your life and you keep on adding to them until your family says enough and starts giving them away. I bought most of them - there were over 5,000 at one time - in second-hand book shops scattered all over the world, from London - where as a student, I bought my first book - and Paris to Bombay and Calcutta and went on adding to them until the shelves creaked and even bathrooms were full of George Orwells, Graham Greenes, not to speak

This article was originally published on November 27, 2021.