Qthis is a requiem for libraries. Because, as much as we still pride ourselves on them, putting them as the background in video calls, and as beautiful as they are, all of them, even the most rude ones, in our homes they are destined to become extinct within twenty yearsmaximum thirty years.
Time for the generations born in the 20th century to die out, and the last remnants of these talking walls will be set aside. I haven’t figured out what can replace them yet. Not in the physical sense, because any piece of furniture will take its place (even none), one thing is clear: the house will benefit in terms of order and quantity of accumulated dust. But what can occupy the space of that place of inspiration that is a bookshop?
Do you have in mind that sense of dizziness that comes over you when, passing by, you see a title? Whether it is an untouched book that you have forgotten, and which now exerts its rightful psychological blackmail on you, or whether it is a reading that has captivated you in the past, I challenge anyone to remain indifferent in the face of so much on offer.
Antonella Baccaro (photo by Carlo Furgeri Gilbert).
A vibration that does not cause the vision of any other furnishing objectunless it reminds us of someone. But that someone will never be the multitude of characters waving from the shelves, bearers of a story already defined compared to ours that we don’t know where it will land.
A dear friend of mine had accumulated so many volumes that the bookcases were no longer enough for him. His books had begun to make up piles, and the piles entire walls without support, until they created a precarious labyrinth in each room, through which one had to pass. Having to move, he called his friends to rob him of what they needed to lighten his load of the burden of having to choose what to take with you.
It’s true, not all books really deserve to remain on our shelves, but as with friends who have disappointed us a little, we struggle to get rid of them, because they are still pieces of us. And yes, we would need space for new things. This is why I started creating my own audio library. But it’s not the same thing: if you can’t look at it and touch it… enjoy it only halfway.
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Antonella Baccaro’s articles on I Woman and on Corriere della Sera.