Friday, April 27, 2012

An Obsessive Passion for Books


Fox Point woman's life is like a thousand open books. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 4/26/2012)

Excerpt: Her 33-year-old daughter, Barbara Stern, who lives in Whitefish Bay, said her mother can live with her if need be, but her stuff can't come along.  She praised her as smart, talented and generous, but said it was embarrassing to have friends over to the cluttered house when she was growing up. 

She also prefers the word passion to describe her mother's collecting of books from rummage sales, library sales, and really anywhere she could get them cheaply. 

"I always thought it was a good passion, but it ended up taking over," Barbara said. 

Sally proudly admits to being an idealist. That's why she dreams of opening a book palace where people could come, day or night, to read and discuss books. And she could live upstairs. She also hopes someone will make a film about her and her struggle to save the books. 

She can't imagine the books being destroyed, though she can't afford to store them.


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