Charlie Rose

REMant  09/11/2009 02:07 PM Report

I either tried to read or watch Ragtime or perhaps both, found it silly and have never looked at another book of his in either form. He is right tho I think if means that in writing all authors, fiction or non-fiction, talk to themselves, in the process making objective what was not. To be able to really profit from it I think you have to be able to read and edit your own work, which many young ppl seem strangely not able to do. With respect to the new book he might perhaps have consulted some psychiatrists familiar with hoarding, which seems to them a pretty definable condition. One of the leading theories is that strewing stuff all around is actually a substitute for poor memory, which may extend to forming an essential part of their self-concept, because they are loath to give anything up. There is more hoarding around than you might think. My jurisdiction even has an ordinance against it, altho it does not necessarily extend to compulsive shoppers, or ppl who cannot afford Public Storage. Their website states: "Hoarding is the excessive collection and retention of newspapers, trash, unopened sale items, clothing, paper, rotting food and even cats. Conditions in the home of a hoarder can become so extreme that all available space from floor to ceiling may be occupied and the day-to-day activities of the home's occupants are impeded. Hoarders become emotionally attached to everything. They are unable to distinguish trash from treasures. Hoarding 'feels right' to the hoarder, in spite of health and safety consequences. Hoarding does not recognize race, gender, nationality, level of education or socio-economic bracket. While more prevalent in older adults, hoarding is estimated to affect 350 households per 100,000 people." Nevertheless, I think there are also collectors - really addicts - who don't enjoy anything but the accumulation, never listening to, reading, wearing, or using whatever, and even renting storage to keep it in, some even falling into the Don Juan (or Juanita) classification, which leads me to think that for them it is a power thing, but perhaps the two are connected as obsession is to compulsion.