A review by firolimn
Do Not Sell at Any Price: The Wild, Obsessive Hunt for the World's Rarest 78rpm Records by Amanda Petrusich

adventurous informative lighthearted reflective fast-paced

5.0

 
I was drawn in by the particularly vivid portrait of collecting that Petrusich penned down, the clear picture of giddiness familiar to anyone with a penchant for collecting (be it finding a yet-unowned book by your favorite author at a thrift store, pulling a treasured Magic the Gathering card from a booster, or discovering some arcane lusted-after item for near-nothing on eBay).

I stayed for the lucid mediations: Petrusich dissects what it means to be a collector, what inspires that consumptive obsession, and scrutinizes the wide-reaching influence of the most devoted curators. Both positives and negatives, the careful preservation of records which might otherwise have languished and been dumped (but through the diligence of enthusiasts now live on digitally for many to enjoy) and the dangers of allowing an impassioned minority to redefine the character of a movement, the primary case study here being early 20th century blues, obsessed over by neurotic white ascetics.

Overall, delightful and intriguing creative nonfiction