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Linda Grant

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I Murdered My Library (Kindle Single) Kindle Edition

by Linda Grant (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.0 563 ratings

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What happens when you begin to build a library in childhood and then find you have too many books? From a small collection held together by a pair of plaster of Paris horse-head bookends to books piled on stairs, and in front of each other on shelves, books cease to furnish a room and begin to overwhelm it. At the end of 2013, novelist Linda Grant moved from a rambling maisonette over four floors to a two bedroom flat with a tiny corridor-shaped study. The trauma of getting rid of thousands of books raises the question of what purpose personal libraries serve in contemporary life and the seductive lure of the Kindle. Both a memoir of a lifetime of reading and an insight into how interior décor has banished the bookcase, her account of the emotional struggle of her relationship with books asks questions about the way we live today.

Linda Grant is an award-winning novelist and non-fiction writer. Her novel WHEN I LIVED IN MODERN TIMES won the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2000 and THE CLOTHES ON THEIR BACKS was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2008 and won the South Bank Show Award. Her latest novel, UPSTAIRS AT THE PARTY, will be published in July 2014. She lives in London with fewer books than she used to.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00K6JO15A
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Amazon Digital Services, Inc. (May 5, 2014)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 5, 2014
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1280 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 28 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #1,295,236 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #39 in Kindle Singles: Arts & Photography
- #50 in Kindle Singles: Humor & Entertainment
- #311 in Kindle Singles: Literature & Fiction

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4.0 563 ratings

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Linda Grant

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Linda Grant was born in Liverpool on 15 February 1951, the child of Russian and Polish Jewish immigrants. She was educated at the Belvedere School (GDST), read English at the University of York, completed an M.A. in English at MacMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario and did further post-graduate studies at Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada, where she lived from 1977 to 1984. She now lives in London and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. website lindagrant.co.uk

Fiction

The Cast Iron Shore, Granta Books (London) 1995

When I Lived in Modern Times, Granta Books (London) 2000

Still Here, Little Brown May (London) 2002

The Clothes on Their Backs, Virago Press (London) 2008

We Had It So Good, Virago Press (London) 2011

Upstairs at the Party, Virago Press (London) 2014

The Dark Circle, Virago Press (London) 2016

A Stranger City , Virago Press (London) 2019

Non-Fiction

Sexing the Millennium: A Political History of the Sexual Revolution. HarperCollins (London) 1993

Remind Me Who I Am, Again Granta Books (London) 1998

The People on the Street, a writer's view of Israel, Virago Press (London) 2006

The Thoughtful Dresser, Virago Press (London) 2009

Awards

The Dark Circle

Shortlisted for the Bailey's Prize for Fiction

Jewish Quarterly Prize

Longlisted Walter Scott prize for historical fiction

The Clothes On Their Backs

Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2008

Winner South Bank Show Award

The People on the Street:A Writer's View of Israel

Lettre Ulysses Prize for Literary Reportage

Still Here

Longlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2002

When I Lived in Modern Times

Winner, Orange Prize for Fiction 2000

Shorlisted: Jewish Quarterly Prize, Encore Prize

Remind Me Who I Am, Again

Mind Book of the Year 1999

Age Concern Book of the Year 1999

The Cast Iron Shore

David Higham First Novel Prize

Shortlisted Guardian Fiction Prize

Customer reviews

4 out of 5

563 global ratings

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Minicatreading

I loved this single

Reviewed in the United States on July 7, 2014

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I've only written one other review so please cut me some slack if I make any errors of etiquette. Anyway, I loved this single. I swear she was inside MY head when she wrote it. I have tried many times to murder my library but I just don't have it in me. I do usually manage to give away a few books but never enough to make a difference. I would love to have space to display photos and art objects I have picked up during my travels but giving away a well-loved book, whether I'll ever read it again or not, feels like discarding an old friend. I do love my Kindle but I think of it as a tool or a part of my library rather than a replacement. I travel cross-country by train quite a lot. I love being able to pull up Bleak House or Pride & Prejudice late at night in the middle of nowhere. But I will never give away my print copies. I also like to pass books I've enjoyed on to other people, which you can't do with an ebook as a rule. And mostly I find physical books aesthetically pleasing. I just plain like looking at them. I've never felt the same about Penguin since they stopped color-coding the spines. Finally, I completely sympathized with Ms Grant when she spoke of her relatives who don't understand why she "needs" all those books. Here is a true story. Many years ago I was lucky enough to work in an office building located next door to a Barnes & Noble. One day I came back from my daily visit with a bag. One of my colleagues strolled into my office and said "bought some books, Pat?" I agreed that I had, in fact, bought some books. To which he responded "but don't you already HAVE quite a few books?" Anyway, if you are a reader/book lover do yourself a favor and buy this. You will love it. I guarantee you will feel you are reading about scenes from your own life.

7 people found this helpful

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Lori Dalvano

Is it a library or a Hoarders Nightmare?

Reviewed in the United States on June 23, 2014

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I enjoyed reading this short tale of a writer's heartbreaking decision of depleting her 50 year old personal and professional library. As she takes the reader through the history on how she amassed so many books and why, the question lies what will she do with them all when she moves.

The story was too short, I enjoyed her writing, humor, and wit. I wanted more to learn about her. I concur with Grants argument about coming to accept an Ereader. It did feel a bit like betrayal but you can carry a lot of books in a Kindle.

Many book lovers will emphatically agree with Grant. I will reread this story again.

One person found this helpful

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Karen Roberts

books, books, everywhere!

Reviewed in the United States on November 13, 2014

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As a collector of books for most if my life, and someone who has great difficulty parting with any of them, I was intrigued by the title. I too must "murder" part of my library! I identify with the author. No children to bequeath them too, and nieces and nephews uninterested in my collection of old books. I also identified with the sometimes guilt of abandoning books physically for the digital versions. But, there is a freeing of space, the lightening of the room, the ease of carrying your library along with you wherever you go.
This is a short piece to be pondered by all aging book lovers. There is not enough time to read everything. How do you decide which to keep, and which to release? What is a library? What has value, and who decides?
Me, I'll just be hiding in my library, even if I am reading a digital book. But, read this whimsical piece to help you ponder these questions and decide what to do with your library!

2 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Downsizing books

Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2015

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Liked the author I am getting older. I have started to clear things out of my basement and garage. There are boxes of books to go through and many of them will not be wanted by others. It is extremely hard to eliminate books from a personal library because they are friends.

Before one of my reading friends and I purchased kindles, we exchanged paper backs as we had some reading genres in common. Now we recommend books to each other.

It is sad that so many younger people do not have an interest in reading. They are missing out on great adventures.

Even with the convenience of a Kindle, I still use the public library and buy the occasional book.

I understand how the author felt when she had to downsize her library.

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Ran Walker

Feels All Too Familiar

Reviewed in the United States on June 29, 2017

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This was a brief, enjoyable read. I purchased this book because I am currently wrestling with the same dilemma the author addresses.

I recommend this to bibliophiles who have felt ambivalent about their print books in an age of digital books. It is worth the read, if only to know that your feelings about your library are valid--whatever they may be.

Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2014

Verified Purchase

Where once we had personal relationships with our books...pages folded over, passages underlined, napkins marking places we loved and wanted to remember, downsizing has led many of my book coveting generation to murderous complicity with Linda Grant's mission. Tossing old, dear friends in boxes for donation, possibly never to be read again, feels traitorous. I truly enjoyed the shared grief along with the hidden secret relief of carrying my Kindle or iPad loaded with volumes that has now become my constant companion. Yes, I carry both when I travel, in case my screen turns black as well. Thank you Linda Grant for voicing the loss and giving permission for a techy future for us all. And I will also miss having homes lined with books that illuminate the people who live within those walls.

One person found this helpful

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Diana Linda Lamond

The Redundant Bookcase

Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2014

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A good read. Interesting look at the usefulness of keeping old books as compared to
getting rid of bookshelves, having more space, and using modern technology, such as, the Kindle.
I'm inspired to have a look at some of my old paperbacks and perhaps (?) disposing of them.

One person found this helpful

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Sally Ann

Never too many books

Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2014

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I have the same problem as the author, too many books. Yet I have not murdered mine.
Miss Grant tells a convincing story about reducing the size if her library only to find that she has killed off to many books. What a dilemma ! Thank you for your I sight. I was ready to do the same until I reached the end of your essay. Here's to more books: Kindle or hardback.

One person found this helpful

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Read and Reviewed

Humorous, comforting and thought-provoking homage to a lifetime spend between the covers of a book.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 16, 2019

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“You cannot have a taste for minimalist décor if you seriously read books.”

Humorous, comforting and thought-provoking, I Murdered My Library is author, Linda Grant’s homage to a lifetime spent between the covers of a book. Available as a Kindle single this is a comprehensive and lively little essay covering the problem Grant faced in 1994 after nineteen years of living in a spacious flat, with attics, eaves, landings and stairs, housing her vast collection of books. From evidence of past passions to multiple copies of her own books sent from her publishers, what started in selectively pruning back her collection ended in “rage and ruthlessness” as she prepared for her departure.

As a shy, awkward child of immigrant parents living in suburban Liverpool, Linda Grant tells of her pleasure of discovering life in books with a passion from age six or seven onwards. From finding a world of friends to learning social skills and having reference books to hand, she remarks how books have become the “detritus of the digital revolution”. As estate agents wince and tell her that potential buyers cannot see past her books (‘clutter’), she laments the loss of independent, or simply any, bookshops in her own North London neighbourhood.

Not only are there wonderful anecdotes of peering through the windows of potential neighbours to seek out likeminded people, there is also a good dose of realism from weakening eyesight to the practicalities of an e-reader. As she widens the criteria of her to be culled books by disposing of her own to reading groups and carloads to Oxfam, Grant also makes clear the truth behind the misnomer that we are “building a library to bequeath to the next generation”. From feeling smug at always having something to read at hand with an e-reader, she also makes mention of being stranded with the dreaded flat battery! Us readers really cannot win!

I empathised completely and was immensely comforted to know that I am not alone. An absolute joy to read.

One person found this helpful

Christiane

Of people and books

Reviewed in Germany on September 29, 2015

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This short essay deals with the relationship people have with their books, or, more precisely, book-lovers have with their personal libraries.
The author moves out of her huge book-filled flat into a much smaller place and there is no way she can or even wants to take them all.

There is something about throwing away books, even books one doesn’t like, hasn’t read and has no intention of ever reading , that is almost sacrilegious. Our libraries are something intimate, an expression of our personal history, the development of our tastes, our interests, our intellectual and spiritual progress (or lack of it). Throwing out furniture, knick-knacks, even old letters or photographs is one thing, books are quite another, so donating them is always the first choice, though the author finds that that is getting more and more difficult, so she has to become ruthless in weeding out her collection.

I’ve murdered my library many times prior to many moves and find that actually it is very liberating to just keep the books you can’t live without. I bought an e-reader but still prefer the physical presence of a book so my compromise is to read e-books and to buy the paperback version of those that really speak to me and that I know I will read again. This way the library grows much more slowly, is easier to move and it is satisfying to look around and to know you are in your favourite company.

macf

réflexion philosophique

Reviewed in France on July 17, 2014

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un déménagement exige de revoir les priorités : pourquoi garder un livre et pas un autre ? une réflexion sur sa jeunesse et finalement l'évolution de notre société. Constat d'une société disparue à jamais, ceux qui garde leurs livres.

One person found this helpful

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Alan Jones

But I enjoyed the decision making on how the author chose what ...

Reviewed in Australia on September 5, 2014

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This book took me a little by surprise, especially the ending (not gonna tell). There was a point where it could have been a blatant advert for the Kindle Paperwhite. But I enjoyed the decision making on how the author chose what to keep and what to "murder". I enjoyed the humour. I recommend this to anyone, I enjoyed it.

col2910

Linda, why did you do it?

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 18, 2014

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A short kindle read that won’t be adding to my storage difficulties! It’s always interesting for me to see how other bookaholics deal both physically and emotionally with the issues that our shared passion causes.

Unashamedly I do have an emotional attachment to my collection-cum-library, probably more as a collective entity, as opposed to any individual love for a random book that might be plucked in isolation from a shelf.

I didn’t have the all same issues as the author insofar as all my books have been acquired in adulthood after leaving my parental home, but I have bonded with my books in the past 30 years plus.

For many years, I was of the read them and keep them mind-set but practicalities did overcome the wrench of initially being able to let go of, not just books, but friends. I felt a sense of loss when releasing that first batch of books by Ellroy, Parker, Burke, Pelecanos, Bruen, Guthrie, Smith and Gischler, to mention a few.

Subsequently I have found it much easier to part with books I have just read, mainly because I have survived the trauma of that initial mass bereavement. I suppose losing them one at a time, is similar to shedding flakes of skin daily – it’s unnoticeable and not a threat to my overall well-being.

Other random personal reading peculiarities I have are……..

I don’t like getting rid of books I have bought but not read, even though some of my books have me scratching my head and thinking what did I ever see in that? My taste has evolved obviously over the past 25 years.

I have issues with never not finishing books, irrespective of how much I have disliked something. Maybe I’m an eternal optimist and think something will drastically improve, or maybe I think I’m too stooopid to comprehend the author’s intent and just maybe if I continue, the sackcloth will fall from my eyes – perhaps on the very next page and enlightenment will vanquish the darkness and the penny will drop. And I’ll be a much richer person, basking in my new found knowledge, where previously there was only ignorance.

Part of never not finishing, could be Catholic guilt at “waste”, but also a big chunk of it is sheer cussedness. If I don’t finish it, the author has beaten me and is somehow laughing at me. Well that ain’t happening, Mr Writer – go ahead and do your very worst, you ain’t beating me! See me sucker – still reading your puerile crap – who’s laughing now? (Err, probably, still him but that’s part of my genetic make-up I suppose.)

Back to the author’s offering then, which is hard to review without actually transferring her thoughts and scenarios to my own outlook. Maybe that’s the point.

She had a favourite bookshop in childhood. My two were in adulthood - the independent seller, Goodwins in Leighton Buzzard and a couple of times a year, a trip to Murder One on the Charing Cross Road in London – source of some amazing US imported crime fiction pre-internet and Amazon days. Both of these are long gone, though I’m not quite sure if Murder One limps on in another guise at another location. She rues the absence of a decent bookshop in her locale, so do I; though in some immeasurable way I have surely contributed to their demise in pursuit of more books for my money. Why buy a new book for a tenner, when I can buy 3 second hand books for the same money?

She double stacked her books on shelves when space was tight. I did the same, then triple stacked if the width of the shelf allowed it. I also had to abandon author shelf chronology in an attempt to squeeze more books on the shelves, by reordering by size. I even removed my clothes from my pine wardrobe and filled it with books instead – 4 rows across and 4 rows deep! I kept the clothes elsewhere, but the underlying theme was I’d rather have a book than a shirt!

That last point still resonates, but when the book has been digested I can move it on now without remorse.

Overall – a 4 from 5.

I don’t think she had to murder her library and condemn herself to looking at empty shelves, there had to be a compromise solution – so I’m down-grading her score! In the past few years, my collection has moved to the attic, as my daughter took over my study; that was almost as hard as losing 600-odd books in one go, but the library is still intact albeit not as instantly accessible.

Acquired recently on Amazon UK for Kindle.

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Linda Grant

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