There are books to buy, and books to read. There are books to shelve by genre or by subject, rows of matching author names like tombstones in a family graveyard, biographies and autobiographies kissing in mutual admiration.

There are pet systems and pet hobbies for your taxonomy. Top shelf: The series your mother lent you to read when you have time, perched in plain sight so she will know you know you should start it soon. Below, Malcolm X stares at Barbara Ehrenreich. A children’s series leans haphazard against the annotated copy of the author’s first draft.