William Shakespear once wrote: "Neither a borrower nor a lender be."
This has become my mantra with regards to my personal library. I do not believe in "borrowing" books, nor do I believe in "lending" them out. If I borrow them, they're not mine and I will have to give them back. Conversely, if I lend them out there stands the chance that they might not be returned.
I once read that one of the things that separates the rich from the poor is that the rich maintain personal libraries. Is this an absolute science? I cannot personally say that it is; however, what I can say is that I have been in the homes of some very well off people and I have been in the homes of some not so well off people. Those who were well off had bookcases stocked from top to bottom, whereas those not so well off barely had anything more than the latest tabloid or entertainment rag on their coffee table.
In the movie, "Barbershop," comedian Cedric the Entertainer said that the barbershop was the "poor man's country club." Having spent many a Saturday in the barber shop I readily concur. In the spirit of this analogy, I would go so far as to say that with all of the retail book outlets available, the library has become the "poor man's bookstore." The library is still a tremendous place of value, for it contains maony books, records, and documents that you cannot buy at Barnes & Noble; however, when it comes to obtaining those books that you would read to improve your mind, your life ... your over all condition ... I would strongly urge you to scrape together what you can and BUY your books.
Build your library as you would a castle. Every book is a brick. Build for the future. Build and teach your children how to build as well. Who knows what kind of wealth your great grandchildren will amass based on the books you buy & build with today.
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