On collecting Lovecraftiana

"Is this the final exorcism/Of an obsession"

As someone who, well, loves H.P. Lovecraft, and has a tendency to gather small topical book collections, Lord Bassington-Bassington has acquired a decent assortment of books related to The Gentleman of Providence through the years. So it shouldn't be surprising that there is a separate bookshelf here at Bassington Manor dedicated to Lovecraftiana: Writings by Lovecraft, about Lovecraft, inspired by Lovecraft and writings that inspired Lovecraft.

One could perhaps lay down the claim that this is the largest collection of Lovecraftian titles in Norway, and invite challengers to a geek-off. But the question is whether this shelf is something to be ashamed rather than proud of. There are plenty of times that Lord Bassington-Bassington has felt that his Lovecraft obsession was a bit of an embarassment.

One could, you know, become a minor expert on some author that normal adults have actually heard of.

Then after all, His Lordship didn't choose to become obessed with Lovecraft - Lovecraft chose him.

So perhaps this post is as much an attempt to gather Lord Bassington-Bassington's thoughts about collecting Lovecraftiana. Some thinking about this is a real necessity these days, when the market is flooded by books cashing in of the fact that the copyright to The Gentleman of Providence expired a few years ago. The growing interest in Lovecraft in popular culture (especially films) also contributes to this. Perhaps a few words about His Lordship's collection of Lovecraftian DVDs later.

The trick, as in so many other things, is to know when to stop. Much of what is released is, frankly, so Dogawful that it's a waste of money and shelf space to buy and store it, and a soul-killing effort to actually read it. The trick is to search out the gems. This will be even more important as the Lovecraftian juggernaut rolls on.

So there, dear reader, you have it. Lord Bassington-Bassington's shelf of shame. Or pride. Or whatever. Now let's see if something similar can be done with Lord Bassington-Bassington's collection of style books...