book hound

It is a commonly known fact that I am addicted to books. I love reading them, the way they feel in my hands, their smell, the texture of the page, the piles of them around me at any given time....

I have been trying to assemble Jung's collected works (CW) before I begin writing my thesis and I have just about accomplished that with a recent eBay purchase. I found clean hardcovers, almost a complete set, for far less than they should cost. I have no place to put them, but will manage somehow. I recently found a bookcase sitting next to the garbage cans down the block and schlepped that home. I also got a free bookcase from some friends that I have been slowly painting with acrylics. They'll never recognize it. I'll sell off the softcover copies of the CW I already own to try to make up for some of the money I've spent on these books. I am glad to have them and yet of course wonder what happened to their previous owner. You don't get rid of these books unless you are destitute or dead. I wish the books could talk.

I am amazed at the body of work that Jung developed during his lifetime. And what is published (21 volumes in the collected works plus some lectures and other small volumes that didn't make it in) is only a portion of what exists, say some. There is a movement by the Philemon Foundation to publish the true complete works, though considering how long it took to publish the first round, it may not happen in my lifetime. They estimate that another 30 volumes will ultimately be published. Amazing. That man must have never slept. And yet he did. He had a family, saw patients, lectured, traveled, maintained friendships, painted, sculpted, taught, and slept, too. Where else would those dreams have come from? He probably didn't blog, though. I am in awe.