This is obviously a planted PR piece. Also will note that those books look like they are in remarkably good condition as a group. They don't look like they were abused cover to cover by many people at all. It's almost ironically like some kind of a movie prop setup but lacking the key review that would ensure accuracy and realism in the final product.
Separate issue is that as we can see from HN comments [1] not everything that is written is accurate but it's often interesting and makes a compelling read.
[1] One of the reason that I read less books is that any book that I used to read (non fiction, business or history let's say) is always the point of view of only the writer.
> This is obviously a planted PR piece. Also will note that those books look like they are in remarkably good condition as a group. They don't look like they were abused cover to cover by many people at all.
My own library looks a lot like this. I'll only buy a book after I've read it and decide I want it permanently. After that, I might flip through it, but rarely carry it around or expose it to any sort of abuse.
It doesn't surprise me that Andreessen takes such an interest in Hollywood considering that VCs are today's talent agents. Betting on future stars, dealing with big egos, building businesses which promise their customers similar things (fame, wealth, respect)
Hard-copy books may in reality be just as ephemeral as the endless streams of bits and bytes that flow around us these days but, to me, there is always something that just projects a sense of a well-ordered mind and an all-is-well-with-the-universe feel when I see finely-bound versions of such books arranged on shelves with a purpose as they are in the pictures shown here. This is a real throwback, but a nice one. The article itself is fluff but for me, as a long time book buff, this part was intriguing. Not fine-library stuff, just a nice way to convey a feel of real interest for a lobby entrance that would normally be utterly prosaic. It just has a stamp of individuality about it, and I like that.
Separate issue is that as we can see from HN comments [1] not everything that is written is accurate but it's often interesting and makes a compelling read.
[1] One of the reason that I read less books is that any book that I used to read (non fiction, business or history let's say) is always the point of view of only the writer.