Note terapeutiche a margine

Le note scritte a penna o matita (o, per i più audaci come la sottoscritta, con il pennarello) sul margine bianco della pagina di un libro: è l’argomento del post di Wyatt Mason nel blog di Harper’s, una delle poche riviste americane che pubblicano cose sensate.

Some people are fussy about their books, insisting that the margins within remain pristine, treating each volume as a sacred object. Although I have a fair number of first editions, and like having them. (I most like being able to find them for a song–Pnin, by Vladimir Nabokov, hardcover first edition, $6–score. Thank you, Bookfinder.) I don’t treat my books tenderly. I don’t beat them up, but reading is involving, and I usually need to write in the book I’m reading.

Da questa parte dell’oceano, invece, nel blog del Guardian Stuart Evers parla di biblioterapia, un servizio offerto dalla libreria The School of Life per la modica somma di 50 sterline (libri esclusi).

The idea that really marks out The School of Life from other book enterprises is their recommendation service, Bibliotherapy. For £50 – excluding books – a specialist will help you choose books perfectly suited to you; a sort of literary personal trainer, if you will. To my mind, it’s a great idea. With so few of us near a bookseller of experience and understanding, it’s the perfect way to pick your way through the minefield of what to read next.

Obviously it’s dependent on the quality of the person recommending the books, but the idea of an independent professional being on hand to assist has always been a staple of my ideal bookshop. While other aspects of The School of Life appear faddish and self-gratified, Bibliotherapy could well be the future. As they say themselves: “A new book is published every 30 seconds, and you would need 163 lifetimes to get through all the books offered on Amazon.” For those that don’t want to waste time on books that are well reviewed but do nothing for them, this very personal shopper method could help people find books they wouldn’t ordinarily pick up.

Questo è il sito della libreria in questione, che non si limita a offrire biblioterapia, ma anche sermoni, psicoterapia e vacanze di gruppo. E come se non bastasse, organizza cene fra perfetti sconosciuti che vogliono imparare l’arte della conversazione.

Postato da: IM