And so, the end of the week is upon us and I am reliably informed that there are two days of rest available to most individuals who work in normal jobs. However, it has already been recognised that I am never going to be considered as normal. And hence, my weekend has a meeting in the midst of Saturday and a visit down to Horndean, to the Hampshire Genealogical Society Family History Open Day, to man …, well, entirely woman actually …. the Guild of One-Name Studies stand.
Gathering together all the equipment, books, leaflets and boxes ready to pack the car on Sunday, the state of my house is somewhat ‘entertaining’…. a word often used in my previous existence when describing certain educational establishments I have been associated with…. I trust you get the idea? This week, I have treated myself to a few purchases – some of which are not worth publicising (jumpers and other such earth shattering everyday items) – but two of which I would highly recommend: Granny was a Brothel Keeper: 50 Family History Traps and My Ancestors were English Presbyterians or Unitarians. But, I am told that these extra purchases, in addition to my already ever expanding book shelves in various rooms of my house, make me a hoarder.
Is there something wrong with owning lots of books? Doesn’t everyone have a full set of Charles Dickens novels and David Baldacci paperbacks? Isn’t every family historian’s workspace full of tomes from Ancestral Trails to The Phillimore Atlas and Index of Parish Registers? Surely Potty, Fartwell and Knob features on everyone’s bookcases? And so I must ask the question: is there a specific book count which must be surpassed in order to be pronounced as a hoarder?
