Between books and love


A good friend of mine introduced me to the world of book-banditry -- and my life has never been the same again. I recall his girlfriend complainining -- good-naturedly of course -- how my friend and I never seemed to run out of stories to tell to each other about our life-long weakness for the printed page. I could only hope she didn't mean she simply disappeared in the background the moment her boyfriend and I started chattering happily about a beloved vice.

As economists would say, ceteris paribus, could books indeed get in the way of love? A recent essay in the New York Times takes stock of the situation and comes away with a conclusion that for most, it's really up to the parties to make an act of will and say otherwise.


In my friend's case, it didn't seem to be the case. His girlfriend supported his interests, and took the effort to survey the lay of the land, so to speak. They may have differing tastes as far as books were were concerned, but early on in the relationship, they decided together that love was far more important than literary taste. And there is no greater proof to that commitment to love, I think, than the fact that they later tied the knot, for better or for worse, books or no books. Alas, love conquers all, including the allure of books.