The Civil Servant's Question

Pop quiz, hot shot.

Imagine a nuclear holocaust and the whole world is burning, burning, burning. You are the sole survivor of the idiot race and you must find a place to live the rest of a radiation-free existence.

Would you choose a library of books or a library of films?

The Civil Servant formerly known as The Curator asked me this last night, leaving out the apocalyptic background.

I am afraid Fellini, Welles and Kurosawa will be disappointed by my answer (more so if they have seen any of my 'films').

No hesitation here.

I will read, then I die.