Re:A Collector of Math and Physics Surprises
by byproxy on Monday December 03, 2018 @03:28PM
(#18592593)
Couldn't agree more. I happened upon an Annie Dillard book ("For the Time Being") at the last day of a HalfPrice Books moving sale. I'd never heard of her before, but I randomly picked it up, flipped through a few pages, and decided that I'd really enjoy it. Sure enough, it resonated with me and led me to her other works, which are equally - if not, more - compelling.
So, I discovered one of my favorite writers because there was a bunch of books before me and I decided to pick one up.
This is why we have and should continue to keep (physical) libraries and why I love visiting them (along with second-hand bookshops and large scales used book sales). I discovered and bought probably 80+% of my books in this serendipitous way, king to the usual example of chaos in kneading of dough (https://books.google.com/books?id=GvnxBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA148&lpg=...)