Rob Kaplan
羅布·卡普蘭
作者簡介
羅布·卡普蘭(RobKaplan),美國資深編輯,從事圖書出版行業達25年之久。他在1998年創辦了一家出版社,以自己的名字命名。他與美國另一位著名編輯哈羅德·拉賓諾維奇(HaroldRabinowitz)合編了一本現代愛書指南《一派書心》(A Passion forBooks),書中談論關於讀書、尋書、借書、藏書的種種故事,足見他對書籍的愛意之深。他現居紐約,陪伴他的有妻子、兩個孩子和4000冊藏書。
本文選自1999年出版的《一派書心》。文中,卡普蘭詳述了自己多年來形成的藏書流程:踏進書店、瀏覽四方、翻閱新書、檢查瑕疵、編寫書目、新書上架......其中每個步驟都令他心醉神迷,久久沉浸於無限的滿足感之中。我們每個人或多或少都有些怪癖,藏書家的“例行公事”似乎格外多。不知列位愛書狂和藏書控,是否也深有同感?
Although I consider myself a reader rather than a book collector per se, thefact is that I have in effect been collecting books for almost forty years andnow count nearly 4, 000 volumes in my library. To be sure, there are others with larger collections—I recently read of a woman whose more than 10, 000 books fillevery nook and cranny of her New York City apartment—but even so, my books are without doubt my most important possessions.
在我看來,自己隻能算個讀者,談不上藏書家。不過事實擺在那,我的藏書生涯長達近40年,書房裏有將近4000冊書。當然,藏書比我多的大有人在。最近我聽說,有個紐約女人藏書過萬冊,家裏的每個角落都塞滿了書。即便如此,書是我最重要的財產,這一點毫無疑問。
Having purchased 4, 000 books over forty years means I’ve brought home, onaverage, almost two books every week, year in and year out, for most of my life.
And over all this time I’ve developed—albeit unwittingly and to some extentunintentionally—a procedure, a ritual by which I make each of those books mineand incorporate each into my library. Although the ritual has changed in subtleways over the years, it has remained essentially the same for as long as I canremember.
40年間添置了4000本書,意味著我大半輩子裏,平均每周要買差不多兩本書,而且從不間斷。這麼多年過去了,“買書上架”這件事,不知不覺中已形成一套流程或曰“例行公事”。隨著時間的推移,這套“例行公事”略有修正,但在我的印象中大體沒變。
The first step, of course, is walking into a bookstore. (I also purchase booksthrough the numerous mail-order catalogs I receive on a regular basis, but whenI do the procedure is somewhat different.) As many hundreds or thousands of times as I’ve done it, I still feel a thrill at stepping through the doors of such an establishment, something akin to the feeling I get stepping out fromunder the stands at Giants Stadium and seeing the broad, green playing fieldbefore the start of a game. There’s an expectation of discovery, a sense of journeying into the unknown, that always excites me.
第一步當然是踏進書店。(我也通過大量定期寄送的郵購目錄買書,但還是習慣去書店買書。)書店,我進過成百上千次了,但每每跨過書店門檻,我的心仍砰砰地跳個不停。那種激動雀躍的心情,有如站在巨人體育場的看台上,在開賽前俯視那寬闊的綠茵場。對新發現的期待和對未知世界的探索,總能刺激我的神經。
For some time now I’ve kept an ongoing list of books I want to buy, and when Igo on serious buying expeditions—as opposed to simply dropping into abookstore—I always bring the list with me. This does not, of course, mean I buyonly what’s on the list—or even that I necessarily do buy what’s on the list—butit’s a starting point. Even so, I always allow myself a little time to simplybrowse, taking in the “New Arrivals” section as well as a number of othersubject categories that I habitually peruse.
我一直有開列購書清單的習慣,不時地往清單上添加想買的書。每當我真正踏上購書之旅,而非隨便走進書店閑逛時,總會帶著這張清單。當然,我不是隻買清單上的書,也不是必須買清單上的書。清單隻是個起點罷了。即便如此,我總會留下點時間轉轉“新書區”,把其他類型的書也習慣性地瀏覽一遍。
Eventually, though, I find the appropriate section and look for the title I’mafter. Of course, the book I’m looking for may not actually be there, but when Ido find it I again feel that sense of embarking on a journey. So with restrainedexcitement, I gently take the book from the shelf and hold it for a moment, checking the front cover to make sure it is, in fact, the book I want.
最後,我會找到合適的區域,開始尋找想買的書。當然,我想要的書不一定在那。但當我找到它時,感覺就像一場旅行即將拉開帷幕。我急忙按捺住心中的激動,把它從架上輕輕取下,拿在手中摩挲片刻,檢查封麵,確定它就是我要的那本書。
Since I generally buy books on the basis of familiarity with the author, reviews, and/or recommendations from friends, it is not, strictly speaking, necessary for me to read the flap copy of hard covers or the back panels ofpaperbacks, but I always do. I do it, I think, out of a sense of responsibility, because, as a former book editor myself, I know what an effort editors gothrough to accurately and—even more important—invitingly describe the contentsof each title. But since I generally already know what the book is about, and amalready inclined to buy it, it is a cursory reading at best.
一般來說,熟悉的作者、優秀的書評和朋友的推薦是我買書的參照。因此,嚴格來說,我沒必要關注精裝書封套或平裝書封底上的簡介。不過,我總會看上一眼。我想,這是責任心使然,因為我做過圖書編輯,知道為了寫出準確,更重要的是誘人的內容簡介,編輯付出了多少心血。但我早已知曉書中內容,而且已決定將其買下,所以對簡介頂多是匆匆一瞥。
The next step is to open the book itself, carefully lifting the front cover and, with brand-new books (as opposed to used ones), quietly thrilling at the slightresistance offered by a cover that’s never been opened before. Gingerly turningthe pages, I read the half-title page, the title page, and, in a nonfictionbook, the table of contents, savoring each step, until I come to the first pageof text. This is the real test, the point at which I will decide to buy or notto buy, elect to make this book part of my life or place it back on the shelf.And so I read the first paragraph, only the first paragraph, never more. If I find myself sufficiently disinterested as to not be able to finish reading thefirst paragraph, I close the book and put it back where it came from. But if those first hundred words are to my liking—and I have no idea what specificcriteria I apply—then the decision has been made.