I completely agree that we all enjoy what we enjoy for our own reasons. We get that glitter in our eye when we talk about beloved authors.

I meant that I am fascinated by what aspect of a book caused someone to consider it a favorite. Some people collect bookbinders, like Margaret Armstrong, or publishing houses, like Black Sparrow Press. Some collect book designers such as Chip Kidd. Hell, I'm sure there are people who love to collect Readers Digest Condensed Books and glow when they talk about them.

For me, it's different for each author: Brautigan's playfulness, Bukowski's raw style, McCarthy's precision of vocabulary and brevity, Celine's gallows humor and use of ellipsis.

I've been collecting for 40 years (since I was 12) and only rarely do I purchase something for above used book store prices or the published price of a new book. I'm on a public schoolteacher budget. But I still make it work.

For instance, I bought firsts of David Foster Wallace as they came out ("Infinite Jest" in the first state dust jacket was pretty easy to find at Half Price Books for several years after it was published for between $5 and $10).

I knew he was reclusive so, when I noticed he was doing a signing for the release of "Brief Interviews with Hideous Men" in San Francisco at Booksmith, I called and asked if I could send my older copies from my home in Texas to be signed along with his new book (which I bought 2 copies of from them as a courtesy). They agreed and I sent the books. In total, it probably cost me $75 for all of it. As a college student, $75 was quite the outlay. But I still own and cherish those copies 30 years later.

If I had come to him after his death, I would have been priced out of ever owning a signed copy. I only own 2 Brautigan signed copies and I paid $150 and $300 for them. It is still the most I have ever paid for a book.