Finished The House is Burning: What Would You Take, which is edited by Foster Huntington. I received a copy from the publisher.
The idea behind this book (and the website that inspired it) is incredibly simple: if your house is on fire, what would you take? Obviously you’d save people and pets, but what of your possessions do you have to bring with you?
The answers vary, obviously, from person to person. You’d want your wallet and probably your phone. But what else? A favorite book or movie or CD? An iPod or Kindle or iPad? Your computer or camera? Cards and letters, maybe?
So why care about what strangers would save? There are two reasons. First, obviously, is that it makes you think about what you’d take in a fire. And second is that it shows you what matters to the people interviewed. That’s an interesting glimpse into a stranger’s life.
For me, I would save Sam (obviously). The next most important thing is this box I have that’s f ull of letters and cards, stuff from college on from people I love and who love me. There are letters from my dad in there, so obviously it’s irreplaceable. I’d want my phone and iPad and Kindle. And the only other thing I’d really want to save is this old stuffed cat I have that I’ve had since I was a kid, a gift from my best friend. (I say that those are all I’d try to save, but I can also see me frantically throwing books out the window to try and get them clear of the building before Sam, the box, stuffed cat, electronics and I made our way outside.)
So what would you save?
