Kevin had started scoping out places to stay this summer in San Francisco when I was visiting him there last month. While we were touring one potential place, he remarked on the office set-up aloud - nice computer, good workspace. Then Kevin's roommate for the summer, also a geek, said "oh yeah, this guy's definitely a hacker" while pointing at some O'Reilly books and other obscure computer programming books on the bookshelf. The guy showing the place, a real-estate broker, took offense and warned against jumping to conclusions. Clearly, he had equated 'hacker' with someone who does illegal stuff using computers. They explained that 'hacker' means computer programmer in geek-speak ('cracker' is the geek terminology for someone who uses computers for evil). The realtor didn't seem convinced.
The contents of someone's bookshelf can say a lot about them, as illustrated above. Makes me wonder what insight our bookshelves provide about us. Probably a few things:
- We like to read novels
- We like to cook
- We like plants
- A hacker lives here
These are the things someone perusing our bookshelves might conclude, at which point I'd elaborate that I'm the reader of novels and that they're organized: those I've read are on the top shelves (I give many of the books I finish to friends), those in the cue are on the second shelf from the top. Kevin is the hacker in the house. I'm the gardener. We both like to cook.
My reflections on the contents of our bookshelves are less objective. So many items on our shelves are associated with memories. The pictures of family (fun on the ferry circa 2005). The grimy stuffed duck (one of the first gifts I received from Kevin - it was a keychain but it started disintegrating so Duckie has been relegated to the shelf). My thesis (over 3 years of my life condensed into 150 pages and bound). The Better Homes & Gardens cookbook (a gift from my mom when I moved out at 17).
Bookshelves are important. Our bookshelves were one of our first purchases when we moved out west. We had bookshelves before we had a bed frame or dressers. In four years, we've filled them up with books and memories.
