Fri Jun 8, 2007 — by Glenn Hauman

Bookstore owner burning his own books

And filmed adaptations go unaired

AP via CNN: Tom Wayne has amassed thousands of books in a warehouse during the 10 years he has run his used book store, Prospero's Books.

His collection ranges from best sellers, such as Tom Clancy's "The Hunt for Red October" and Tom Wolfe's "Bonfire of the Vanities," to obscure titles, like a bound report from the Fourth Pan-American Conference held in Buenos Aires in 1910. But when he wanted to thin out the collection, he found he couldn't even give away books to libraries or thrift shops; they said they were full.

So on Sunday, Wayne began burning his books in protest of what he sees as society's diminishing support for the printed word.

"This is the funeral pyre for thought in America today," Wayne told spectators outside his bookstore as he lit the first batch of books.... He said he envisions monthly bonfires until his supply -- estimated at 20,000 books -- is exhausted.

And it hasn't been all that healthy for things adapted from books either, as we see that ABC has shelved six completed episodes of a series called Masters Of Science Fiction, adapting stories from Robert Heinlein, John Kessel, Harlan Ellison, with Stephen Hawking as host and narrator. All this so we can get things like America's Bingo Night and Dancing With The Stars.

Jump to comments (2)