The always hilarious Jon Swift writes that reading books is – in his opinion – greatly overrated and… that’s exactly why he supports the librarians of Fairfax County, Virginia who ‘have reinvented the idea of the library for the 21st century. “A book is not forever,” says Sam Clay, the director of the system. “If you have 40 feet of shelf space taken up by books on tulips and you find that only one is checked out, that’s a cost.” So Clay has set out to purge from Fairfax County libraries all 40 feet of tulip books, which were apparently purchased during the great Tulip Mania of the 17th century. But it’s not just books on tulips he’s tossing into the dustbin of history. Aided by a computer program that earmarks books that haven’t been checked out in two years, he has ruthlessly weeded out outdated works by such long-dead, irrelevant authors as Virgil, Aristotle, William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, and many others, all to make room for ten more copies of the latest bestseller by John Grisham.’
Jon comments:
Books that bored me to tears when I was young and forced to read them in school are finally getting their just desserts. Taxpayer supported libraries are now realizing that the purpose of government is not to force us to do what is good for us, except when it comes to smoking, drugs and trans fats…
As Ezra Klein, who had always struck me as suspiciously bookish, points out, a library shouldn’t be a “dusty repository of the classics.” Lots of books are available on Amazon, and if they aren’t, well, they probably weren’t worth reading anyway. Others can be found on the Internet. Who wants to carry around all the bulky books in Marcel Proust’s Remembrance of Things Past when you can just read them online. Even better, you can just read an online summary.
Read the entire post over at Jon Swift.
As you all should know by now, I agree completely with Jon. Reading is for idiots. Reading is for people with too much time on their hands. Reading a book might cost one several hours. Perhaps even ten hours or more (depending on how fast one reads). For one book! That’s ridiculous. Most movies only last two hours. Some three, but that’s it. That’s normal.
Of course those librarians should get rid of books altogether, not just some big books (nobody reads anyway) like:
The Works of Aristotle Aristotle (Centreville)
Sexual Politics Kate Millett (Centreville)
The Great Philosophers, Karl Jaspers (Centreville)
And
The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams (Chantilly Regional)
Writings, Gertrude Stein (Chantilly Regional)
Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte (Chantilly Regional)
Doctor Faustus, Christopher Marlowe (Chantilly Regional)
and:
Oh Pray My Wings Are Gonna Fit Me Well, Maya Angelou (Chantilly Regional)
To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee (Reston Regional)
but it’s a start.
Anyway, again, read the entire post over at Jon Swift. It’s – as always – a great read and he gives the e-mail addresses of the library and of the library board so you all can send them an e-mail thanking them for this great decision!
UPDATE
Be sure to read this post from Jon. Somehow Amazon deleted all his brilliant reviews!
A few examples (I cannot stop laughing):
Do As I Say (Not As I Do): Profiles in Liberal Hypocrisy by Peter Schweizer
15 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
I am against hypocrisy, January 16, 2006
I have not actually read this book but I am against hypocrisy and I am glad someone has written a book opposing it. It’s amazing to me, for example, that liberals with questionable military records, like John McCain, John Murtha, John Kerry and Max Cleland have the hypocrisy to attack the war in Iraq. I don’t know if Mr. Schweizer compares their military records with the records of President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and Donald Rumsfeld in this book but if he doesn’t he might want to do that in his next book.
The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History by Thomas E. Woods Jr.
0 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
I prefer history that is correct, January 17, 2006
I have not actually read this book but I don’t understand why someone would write a book of history that is incorrect. I think we have enough problems nowadays getting young people to learn the correct dates when something happened and the correct names of our Presidents that filling their heads with more incorrect information doesn’t make any sense at all.
Men In Black: How the Supreme Court Is Destroying America by Mark R. Levin
4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
I love Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, January 16, 2006
I have not actually read this book but I love the movie with Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. I thought it was very funny and very imaginative with all of the alien creatures. I don’t remember the movie saying anything about the Supreme Court but I know they often change books when they adapt them into movies. Even though I agree with everything Justice Scalia says he does sometimes seem like an alien from another planet, which I mean in a good way.
PAST CONTRIBUTOR.