44. some secrets stay secret, but are they still lost?

i'm really not sure where to start explaining sheridan hay's novel, The Secret of Lost Things.  I definitely reccomend it, though.  it's kind of sad and strangely intriguing.  it made me want to read melville.... i'm not quite sure if i'm ready to tackle moby dick, though.  it just seems like such an innappropriate title.  eh well.  i don't really want to say too much about this novel because i know i will not do it justice.  it deals with loss and coveting and lust and greed..... and a very unrecognized world of book collectors.  where are these people with shelves and shelves of classics in first edition?  can you be a serious book collector without having autographed, first printings that are in literary cannons in high schools and colleges the world over?  is a librarian a book collector?  am i a book collector simply for reading them?  when it comes down to it, this, like any other thing, cannot be defined by any one person or thing, it is defined by those who need to define it.  did that make any sense at all??