Pete once remarked that hardship sells. This, from the guy who is adept at getting to the heart of any and all arguments, arguments in the academic sense. Pete made this remark in reference to something that I’d written, I don’t remember what except for the fact that it was literary nonfiction. I didn’t want to agree with him but had to concede that he was right.

Every good work of nonfiction, be it outdoor, travel, memoir, or sports related fits this bill. The examples are plentiful. What first comes to mind is George Orwell’s Down and Out in  Paris and London. Orwell writes about dishwashing and being homeless in Paris and London,

Becky's horse

using his own experiences and those of others. A great book. Another example, Tracks by Robin Davis. Incredible book. Davis writes in the first half of her book about the difficulties inherent to getting camels and then crossing the Outback on the same. In this journey, she loses her dog Digger, who gets into some poison. If this is not hardship, I don’t know what is. Let’s see, another: Lady Lone Rider: Alone Across America on Horseback, by Bernice Ende. Ende has travelled thousands of miles by horseback, solo. She spent one winter, in Montana, in a tent in a barn. Definite hardship here.

Now if any of these or other writers working in the above-mentioned genres made their journeys sound like cakewalks, no one would read what they’ve written. This is because readers like to read about people taking things to extremes. Why this is, I haven’t figured it out.

I, since Pete made note of what I call the hardship factor, have made it a point to include hardship incidents in what I’m writing. For sure, Shelf Life: A Book About an Overabundance of Books qualifies. My main idea is that dealing with overabundance can be as stressful as dealing with underabundance. And I use self-example in this book.

The past two days have fit the category of hardship. Yesterday Pete answered the phone early and was told we have to remove four bookcases and all the books they contain from the K Building. Bill and I got the books out. It was a physically and mentally draining morning, first having to move the books then thinking about the consequences. We’d invested a lot of energy into getting the books into the hands of appreciative readers.

Now tomorrow, no Saturday, we’ll be moving the bookcases out of the K Building and into the former banquet room of the historic Eagle Hotel. I don’t know which constitutes being more backbreaking, moving the books or moving the bookcases. This is an instance of hardship, for sure.

I also don’t yet know if I’ll be including this incident in Shelf Life. It would keep readers reading, being hardship related – but is it going to be lengthy enough? If, say, we soon get permission to move the books back, preferably based on audience demand, then yes, the details of this forced move will be included.

I hope the public rallies and has some form of public outcry.

Hard to say.

Next: 19. 1/19/24: Nulla Dies Sine Linea: Failure