Mo. Man Burns Books as Act of Protest
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By DAVID TWIDDY Associated Press Writer
May 28,2007 | KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Tom Wayne 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 like 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 wanting to thin out his collection, he found he couldn't even give away books to libraries or thrift shops, which said they were full. So on Sunday, Wayne began burning his books protest 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.
(see link for more on the article). I find it hard to imagine someone who has amassed that many books being able to BURN THEM. I feel that weird shock you feel when you think things should work a certain way but they don't. Not surprised, but still wish it wasn't so. He said it was "fun". :O
P.S. VOX is looking really weird in my browser today.
ETA: PaperbackSwap is trying to get the books from this guy, there is a petition and everything!
specficromantic 
I saw that over the weekend and though the same as you. How can any book lover burn their books like that? I know that he's trying to make a point, but seeing that destruction seriously bothered me for some reason. (And of course, my inner cynic thinks it's probably just a publicity stunt to sell off those books to people who cringe at the burning. LOL)
I agree, I was wondering if it was a publicity stunt by a smart businessman. It probably is half publicity, half protest.