The photo above is likely a not unusual bookshelf among my contemporaries. I periodically pull a book from one of many such shelves and read a random passage. This morning it is Umberto Eco’s, “The Name of the Rose,” first published in Italian in 1980 and in the U.S. in English in 1983.
The year is 1327, the speaker a Franciscan monk, Brother William:
“Wondrous machines are now made, of which I shall speak to you one day, with which the course of nature can truly be predicted. But woe if they should fall into the hands of men who would use them to extend their earthly power and satisfy their craving for possession. I am told that in Cathay a sage has compounded a powder that, on contact with fire, can produce a great rumble and a great flame, destroying everything for many yards around. A wondrous device, it it were used to shift the beds of streams or shatter rock when ground is being broken for cultivation. But if someone were to use it to bring harm to his personal enemies?”
This is why having physical books staring at you is important.
nightmayer 
Ira, I hope you won’t think me too shallow if I admit that all I remember about the book is Sean Connery won a BAFTA for playing the monk.
What I noticed — two things, actually — is 1) that you don’t alphabetize your bookshelf; and 2) you still have your original copy of Garp.
A timely quote indeed. And some great book suggestions in the photo!