The Word Collector
If you collect stamps, you’re a philatelist. If she collects coins, she’s a numismatist. If he’s living in pre-GPS days and collects maps, he’s a cartophile (the same word can be used for a collector of baseball cards). I wonder what one calls a collector of bookmarks? My first bookmark was from Powell’s Bookstore in Chicago.
V. R. Ferose (he goes by Ferose) collects words … words in ink on paper … words on sheets bound between covers. Ferose is a bibliophile, a lover, and a collector of books (the physical kind). Pradeep Sebastian’s afterword in Shelf Aware attributes the following to his friend:
- Generous collector
- Fearless collector
- Creative collector
- Wide-ranging collector
Reading the 101 essays in Shelf Aware had me adding to Sebastian’s adjectives:
- Humane collector
- Inclusive collector
- Adventurous collector
- Sacrificing collector
Guide to a Better Book Shelf
In short, Ferose is a book collector extraordinaire with an infectious growth mindset. Shelf Aware’s conversational style had me feeling I was in Ferose’s home library, listening to his stories about books he cares deeply about, and learning through his anecdotes about authors and booksellers he has met.
The book itself is beautifully bound, with heavy stock paper that encourages marginalia and makes the artwork pop. Of course, it’s the content that matters most.
Chapter 1 (“What’s Special”) opens the book with eleven essays that introduce readers to the nuts and bolts of book publication, book collecting, handmade books, and illuminated manuscripts. The essay on marginalia is my favorite in this chapter because I have long read with a pen as much as with my eyes; I like to think that I’m in truthful dialogue (Satyalogue) with the author of whichever book I’m reading. It’s truly a privilege when I can be in actual conversation with a fellow writer (please see accompanying interview).
Guide to a Better Self
Chapter 7 of this superb collection of essays is titled “Guide to a Better Self.” While the book is titled Shelf Aware, it could have also been titled Guide to a Better S(h)elf. With his recommendation of books he has acquired, Ferose serves as a sherpa to those climbing Mt. Bibliophilia on their way to building a meaningful library of their own; he is also a guru of sorts for those who want to dive inward and build a meaningful life that is authentically their own.
Almost every essay in every chapter taught me something. There are many little-known facts such as: Arion Press in San Francisco handcrafts beautiful books; Paris’ most legendary bookstore was renamed Shakespeare and Company on the 400th anniversary of the bard’s birth; and children’s books sold the most during the COVID pandemic.
About bookstores
While I love to learn new things, my favorite part of Shelf Aware is Chapter 12, “Places Through Ages,” because this chapter is about bookstores. The world would be greatly diminished if there were no brick-and-mortar bookstores; bibliophilia of a digital book is akin to loving a chatbot—just not terribly human in the warm, comforting way that a friendly and knowledgeable bookseller makes me feel. I have visited many of the same bookstores that Ferose has. And one of them, Bell’s Books, is in my hometown of Palo Alto.
More than three decades ago, I stole an afternoon away from my work as an R&D manager at HP to escape into this bookshop’s stacks. I roamed into its diverse collection of used and rare books. With two small children at home, I could not afford the antiquarian titles that collectors like Ferose are committed to acquiring. Instead, I asked Faith Bell, the daughter of the bookstore owner, if Bell’s provided complimentary gift wrapping; she replied in the affirmative. I then asked if she could kindly gift wrap all of the Caldecott- and Newbery-prize-winning children’s books.
Astounded, Faith (who is now the owner of Bell’s) said, “All of them? Yes, of course. How soon?” I smiled and said that there was no rush. I returned in a week to collect several boxes of beautifully written and illustrated (and gift-wrapped) books that my children would spend years with (in lieu of having a television at home). The books are now heirlooms, passed along to our next generation’s little hands, eager eyes, and curious hearts.
The wealth of books
As Ferose noted in “Not Just Child’s Play,” (an essay that has a loving illustration of the author reading to his son), “The best gift we can give our children is the wealth of books.”
In his preface, Ferose writes, “Self-awareness is a crucial component of personal growth and spiritual evolution.” He also shares that he and his wife, Deepali, are parents of Vivaan, a child on the autism spectrum. While Vivaan makes a cameo appearance in several essays, he is profoundly present on almost every page through the illustrations created by Adarsh, Anshika, Pranav, Rohit, and Tanush.
Ferose’s collaboration with these autistic artists (and with Akshayee Shetty, Angeline Pradhan, and Upesh Pradhan) makes this handsome book a coffee-table keepsake that one can dip into on a regular basis—perhaps to be inspired by the artwork, perhaps to revisit the text.
All characters welcome!
As I considered how every child has something to offer if inspired by a great teacher, I thought of my wife, Mangla, who for 30 years was an elementary school teacher. And I thought of our daughter, Anu, who followed in her mother’s footsteps as an educator. Both have shared with me these words from a poster they have hung in their classrooms and libraries:
“In this library, all characters are welcome. Your story matters. It’s your choice. Take what you need. Abandon the boring. See yourself in books. Reread favorites. Share with friends. See the world in books. Explore new ideas. Learn new things. You are welcome” (Stacey Riedmiller).
In V. R. Ferose’s library, all characters are truly welcome. His bookshelf is expansive, and his awareness of self and others is inclusive. In Shelf Aware, you can see yourself in Ferose’s books and reread summaries of your own favorite titles. And in the process, you explore and learn. You feel that Ferose is a friend sharing his world through his collection.
Some quibbles
I close with a couple of quibbles: given that Ferose leads the SAP Academy for Engineering and was previously the Managing Director of SAP Labs in India, it’s surprising to not have a chapter on leadership books; also, while the 101 essays are thematically clustered into 19 chapters, there are no chapter headings to signal a change in theme.
But these minor issues can easily be addressed in a sequel to this fine book. Perhaps the 101st essay is like the extra dollar or rupee that we add when giving a gift … it means that there is more to come. Let’s hope that Ferose not only keeps collecting books but also that he continues to write books.
(V. R. Ferose. Shelf Aware. Hachette, 2023. 239 pages.)
Raj Oza in conversation with V.R. Ferose
Raj: Thanks for the gift. What/who inspired you to sign your books only with green ink?
Ferose: I am a huge fan of the poet Pablo Neruda. While reading about his life, I got to know that he signed his books with a green pen—he believed that the color green was a symbol of hope. This stuck in my head and since my first book, Gifted, I have made it a point to sign all my books with green pen, too.
Raj: How does one part of your life inform the other? For example, how did your visit to
Arion Press (“one of the hidden gems of San Francisco” producing only three
“breathtakingly beautiful” handmade books), influence your work at SAP? Please say
more about “engineers who feel trapped inside the machine.” How, in a world that
privileges speed and efficiency, can “joy come from slowing down and performing the
labour of love with our hands?” As you say on the SAP Academy website, all great
engineers want to “build something for the world to be a better place.”
Ferose: It’s fascinating that most of the visitors of Arion Press (where I am a Board
Member) are from the tech industry. The tech geeks are really interested to know
the process of handmade books—not surprising, since many of them are “makers”
and believe in the idea of building things with hands. The younger generation is
amazed at seeing the history of book making unfold in front of them. The same
holds for typewriters, too. I have a couple of them at home and when young children
visit me, they love the tactile feeling of typing on a typewriter. I am strong believer
that while we will live in a digital world, we need to make a conscious decision as to
which part of our lives should be analog.
Raj: For the remainder of our Q&A, let’s use questions from Shelf Aware’s marginalia.
Between raising your son (Vivaan) with your wife (Deepali), leading the SAP Academy
for Engineering, serving the India Inclusion Foundation, playing soccer with your local
team, and being crazy for cricket, how do you find time for writing your essays for The
New Indian Express and “upcycling” them and other essays into Shelf Aware? Also, how
do you meet the many, many people you’ve written about?
Ferose: This is the most frequently asked question! I don’t see them as different
activities—for me it is like having a “Thali meal”—there are different varieties of
food that make a full course meal. I see each of them flowing into each other. My
books and writing inform me and builds my world view, which is essential to
running the SAP Academy, where we build the next generation of engineers, which
in turn keeps me grounded as a full human being—playing different roles as a
father/husband/friend/leader etc. If you start seeing the world as ONE, you see
everyone as unique and everything as interconnected—there is something you can
learn from everyone. Also, I do make time to meet interesting people. Since time is
limited, I do a lot of subtraction instead of addition e.g., I watch TV only
occasionally, am not into social media (except LinkedIn), and cut out negative
people from my life.
Raj: Do you write in the margins?
Ferose: I don’t write in margins—the only time I did was on my school textbooks!
Raj: Do you prefer to discover a book in a dusty, secondhand bookshop or search for it
online?
Ferose: I love visiting a bookstore for the browsing experience, but I also like to go
online for my research purpose. I love in-person book events like author talks
because it provides me a broad understanding of any subject and I get a chance to
interact with the author directly. My fear is that we may lose the traditional
bookstore because I don’t see a viable business model. Also, the next generation
being digital native may not have the same attachment to a physical book/bookstore
as we have. I hope the physical books / bookstores don’t become like pencil /
handwriting.
Raj: I loved your chapter on sports; it could be fleshed out into an entire book. There
were many great titles about cricket. Have you read C. L. R. James’ Beyond a Boundary?
Some call it the finest book on sport as a metaphor for society.
Ferose: I am sports fanatic—as I grew up playing soccer and following cricket. A lot
of my early reading was cricket literature. Because cricket is played across five
days, a lot happens and there is so much content for a good sportswriter. Some of
the finest cricket writers are Michael Parkinson, Gideon Haigh, and Ramachandra
Guha. C. L. R James’ Beyond a Boundary remains a classic that I read in my early
20s when getting a copy was not easy. I need to re-read it now.
Raj: I also thoroughly enjoyed your pieces about films. You mention a desire for a book
about India’s movie industry. Have you read the following: Erik Barnouw and S.
Krishnamurthy’s Indian Film (1963)? Vijay Mishra’s Bollywood Cinema (2013)? And
the legendary Satyajit Ray’s Our Films, Their Films (1992) and Deep Focus (2013)?
Ferose: I have read Satyajit Ray’s books but not the others you mentioned. As you
can see, most good books are written more than two decades ago—I am still
waiting for a scholarly book that is also entertaining (a la C. L. R. James on
Bollywood)!
Raj: It was fun reading Nicholas Brisbane’s foreword and your essay about him. Lovely
how this legendary book collector has begun giving away his books. Can you imagine a
time when you voluntarily downsize your collection?
Ferose: Yes, downsizing is inevitable. As a first step, I have started building a
catalog of 100 of the rarest books in my possession. I would eventually like to donate
all my books to a museum or a library or to someone who will value it as much as I
do.
Raj: With both of us being Gandhiji’s acolytes, perhaps both of us believe that he was
truly universal in his philosophy, taking the best from all great civilizations. I appreciate
Shelf Aware’s many references to the Mahatma. Anything you’d like to add?
Ferose: Mahatma Gandhi is inexhaustible. Gandhi is universal and has timeless
appeal. Gandhi is like Jesus, Mohammad, and Buddha. They were original thinkers,
even if you don’t agree with their ideas. Gandhi covered a wide spectrum—had
political influence, talked about new moral values, caste, religion, sex etc. He is
being studied across the world and his relevance only increases with time!
Raj: Why do you include the “Read to Lead” essay in the “Guide to a Better Self”
chapter? Perhaps servant leadership is a path to self-betterment?
Ferose: I believe one of the most underrated characteristics of leaders is their ability
to read and write. All the greatest leaders in history—Lincoln, Gandhi, Churchill,
Gates, Obama and others—were not just voracious readers but also prolific writers.
They found a way to express themselves with great clarity using words! I think
reading makes everyone a better person—as author Chimamanda Adichie said,
“make literature your religion”!
Raj: I like this quote from Sudha Murthy when she read at SAP Labs: “The true wealth of a person is measured not by the money in his bank but by the books in his bookshelf.”
Please describe how you organize books on your bookshelves.
Ferose: I arrange by books by topic. In my library, the broad categories are Cricket,
Autism, Gandhi, American Presidents, Hollywood, Bollywood, Personal favorites,
Books from friends, Nobel Laureates, Coffee table books, History, Self Help etc.
There is a separate section for Easton press, Fine Press and Arion Press books! All
the fiction books are arranged by my wife!
Raj: I recently read an illustrated children’ book (Marcia Brown’s Once a Mouse, adapted from the Hitopadesa) to my granddaughters while we bundled together on a cozy sofa. I read the same physical book to my daughter and son at bedtime some 30 years ago. The scent of the book took me back decades. Imagine yourself on a bed of books and please describe what the bed looks like. What about your other senses? Smell? Sound?
Taste? Feel?
Ferose: I got introduced to the word “bookosmia” meaning smell of books, thanks
to my friend Nidhi Mishra, founder of Bookosmia—India’s No1 publisher for Kids,
by Kids. I recently got a first edition (1955) copy of Waiting for the Mahatma, by R
K Narayan and loved the smell of the book so much, that I got transported to the
era when the book was written. Somehow, the smell of the book adds to our
imagination, when we are reading a book! Both my wife and I read books before we go to sleep. This has been a habit for many years though the medium has changed—I still read physical books, while Deepali listens to audible.
Raj: In my review of Shelf Aware, I mentioned my fondness for Bell’s Books in
downtown Palo Alto, in part because of their collection of children’s books. Do Vivaan,
Deepali, and you have a favorite children’s bookstore?
Ferose: I try to take Vivaan to bookstores, but he has severe stranger anxiety, so it is
not easy for him to stay for a long time. Also, Vivaan is an auditory learner, so most
the time, he is listening to books.
Raj: I also mentioned in the review that I love the chapter in which you include the essay warmly capturing your visit to Bell’s. Your piece on Powell’s City of Books in Portland is similarly terrific. You have so many great “Little Known Facts” in Shelf Aware. Here are a couple of LKFs for you. Did you know that Powell’s began at the University of Chicago? I knew that one, but how about the fact that three U of C professors (sociologists Morris Janowitz and Edward Shils, and the novelist Saul Bellow) loaned Michael Powell $3,000 to start the bookstore near campus? You write that your dream “is to one day own a bookstore.” Any sense of where you might like to have that shop situated?
Ferose: Thank you for sharing your LKY’s. My dream of owning a bookstore is
very real, and it is not a vanity project. I believe a bookstore can play an important
role in a community. I am also inspired by Words Bookstore in Maplewood, which
has hired over 100 people with autism as part of vocational training. I want India to
have its own book village like Hay-on-Wye. I have lots of ideas and have put
together a plan of what a book village will look like. Time will tell.
Raj: I dream of my grandchildren learning more about themselves, their world, me, and
my world through my book collection. Makes me reflect on how sweet it was to read
about how Deepali, knows you—in part—through your books: “the eternal believer in the
goodness of people.” What book(s) do the two of you regularly read to Vivaan? If there
were an earthquake, after Deepali and Vivaan, what is the one book you would safekeep?
Ferose: When I met His Holiness the Dalai Lama last month at his residence in
McLeod Ganj, he signed a copy of The Invisible Majority (he had written the
Foreword for the book). This book, which provides a blueprint for making India
inclusive for people with disability by 2030, was only possible because of Vivaan.
While there are many books in my collection that are expensive, but this copy of my
book with His Holiness’s signature is priceless. We read everything that we find interesting to Vivaan – I am a great believer in reading widely with no boundaries!
Raj: In closing, what the sequel to Shelf Aware look like? Perhaps titled Shelf Beware?
Ferose: Since I am continuing to write my column on a regular basis, I am confident
there will be at least one if not two sequels – probably Shelf Discover and Shelf Life!