I don’t know if it’s about liberals/conservatives, but writers are also readers, and readers naturally collect the works they most admire. I have shelves and shelves of books, including books that I have read in paperback but later purchased in hardback.
“I don’t know if it’s about liberals/conservatives, but writers are also readers, and readers naturally collect the works they most admire.”
Yes, obviously. I question not why they have books, but rather why they must write hidden deeply within a cocoon of them. I, for instance, though not a professional writer and not in on the secrets of their craft, store my books in various places around the house. Be they on shelves or in boxes, I can get to them when I need them. Meanwhile, whatever room I’m in, I can stare at my books when I tire of looking at other things.
Writers are most likely lazy and disorganized, and don’t feel like putting things back in their place. Or perhaps they’re cramped for space because they live in New York/LA, and their wives have relegated them to some small chunk of the whole living space.