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A Bouquiniste’s Dilemma: To Touch or Not to Touch

The book? It was an 1854 first edition of Walden by Henry David Thoreau. By 1978 I knew already that it was the most influential book I ever would read. I’ve read it completely half a dozen times since then, and I read some substantial part of it every year. I quote from Walden, chapter and verse, almost every day. Now I have an audio edition on the phone in my pocket. What would Henry say about that? Since I have rambling, two-sided conversations with him every time I walk to my office at Ellis Pond, I know he will tell me. Continue reading

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