In my apartment we have ~2,500 books (so says LibraryThing). They take a wall 4m long of floor-to-ceiling bookshelves in the living room, another 2 bookcases (double-width Billy), and another wall in the office (2m floor-to-ceiling). They also overflow to an office at the University and various stacks around the apartment.
The thing is though... we've read nearly all of them between us. We probably have only 2% unread at any given time. That's still a good stack of options to read next, still a whole shelf we haven't touched.
For time, books feel denser and richer compared to TV and most films. Only music and poetry feels as dense and rich.
I wish I could say that there was order to our shelves and there was once several orders! Some parts are by publisher, some parts by theme! Mostly we buy books and add them where there is space.
As to wishlists, we purchase when we see things we want and we're not using wishlists. The things we order tend to be obscure and rare - not valuable, just obscure - so if we don't get them at the time we might not see them again. There's something nice about this... books arrive constantly, and that means there's always something exciting to discover.
Edit: https://www.librarything.com/ is invaluable. We initially got it to help us catalogue things for insurance purposes, but it proves extremely helpful at preventing us from buying the same book twice. Most recently published books only need their barcode scanned or ISBN entered, only the old ones need manual entry.
One of the great things I've come to appreciate about books in the age of digital media is that their physicality gives them a permanence. It's not just the pleasure of reading something on paper... it's that the ideas or stories committed to books are of a naturally higher quality (argue or not) because the writers knew they would be permanent; because six months had passed, and endless edits and revisions; because the authors are dead or hiding.
If form can give rise to function, and I believe that it can, then this post and all the forums and blogs in the world serve a purpose totally at odds with the purpose of physical books. So.. I envy your library and hope you'll keep adding to it, and pass on your reverence of it.
For me it's rather it gives them presence rather than permanence. A book on a shelf is filling a space. It's visible. It's available for anyone to have a look. A book on an eink device is hidden. It's invisible. It's barely accessible. You could have thousands of books on an ebook reader and nobody would know it, because they can't see any of it.
For some books, the title is so good, it's worth the shelf space just for that. The one that's on my shelf that fits this theme is "The Journey is The Reward", on Steve Jobs' journey.
I think a bigger difference is that books are just astoundingly cheap to produce compared to TV. That gives more freedom to take risks and try a huge number of different ideas, some of which will pay off and produce something great.
For the cost of one episode of Game of Thrones, you could publish hundreds of books. Even cheap garbage like reality TV costs enough per episode to publish several books (through a real publisher, would be even more if you count self-publishing).
I'm in the process of moving (apartment to apartment) and the process of boxing up and lugging extremely heavy boxes of books so they can use up precious floorspace in my living area for no practical purpose is giving me anxiety. I'm thinking of getting rid of all by my most precious ones. In fact, most of my favorite books aren't even in this pile anywhere.
A disordered bookshelf is priceless for discovery and unplannable connections.
It's like a slow version of having a drink or weed to get mildly randomized and form new ideas you would/could never while sober.
It's like the difference between directed and basic research. You need them both.
So the ordered bookshelf is necessary if you know what you want. It's a database.
But the unordered bookshelf is maybe not strictly necessary but certainly facilitates when you don't know what you want, or you don't even have a want but are simply open to seeing what happens for a bit. I cannot have a novel idea through intention, it must be instigated by something random.
unfortunately books are one of the most annoying things when you move.
I used to own a quite large stash of them, in the hundreds, not thousands, but started moving a lot, like every 6 months and I began hating them. Now they all live inside boxes in the basement of my house. I don't think I'm going to take them out anytime soon.
Yes, moving was the reason I started a way more minimalistic lifestyle. I got rid of all the books, video games, action figures and all that other stuff I used to collect. Today it's like an addiction, owning less makes me so much happier and I cant even explain why. No 20 pairs of fancy shoes, no outfit for every occasion, no latest technical device for fun - just less stress.
In the basement, I have a two bookshelfs of books that "I will never read or re-read". And that's the ones I didn't have the heart to throw away. These are both fiction and non-fiction. It was a sad day when I realized that most books are trash written for money just like your aforementioned TV series.
Mostly agree, but I find as time goes on there's an increasingly larger percentage of prospective books to read that I'm blase about, not unlike TV and film. I now abort after a few chapters if it does nothing for me. I've done this for authors I know and like. More likely for me to finish non-fiction over fiction. The only books I've wanted to read twice over so far are from Dostoevsky and Pynchon.
After a relative died, I was in their house while it was being cleaned up. They had a huge library of books, but a lot of them were unreadable because of mold/mildew and other issues (not just the typical lovely old book smell). It was such a pity.
We have no plan for them... we read them, we put them on the shelf, we may reread them or loan them out but otherwise they live on the shelf. We do protect them from sun and moisture, but that's easy enough in the UK.
As for what happens after our death, entropy by bureaucracy... the Crown will get the whole estate and eventually will figure it out. No living relatives, so who knows... not our problem.
I believe the source of that idea is this famous quote:
"Buying books would be a good thing if one could also buy the time to read them in: but as a rule the purchase of books is mistaken for the appropriation of their contents." -- Arthur Schopenhauer
It's possible to take this way too far. When my grandfather passed away, I helped my father clean out his house.
The man had a 5-bedroom 2500 sqft house, basically full wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling with books and magazines. Most of them were clearly unread.
Getting rid of all of the books was a big effort. Both physically and mentally. Turns out that not too many too many places want to take a bunch of obsolete computer books, and we didn't have the luxury of a couple of years to sell them all on Amazon or something.
It was a burden on all of us. Image a week-long bucket brigade from upstairs and downstairs. Every armful got heavier and heavier.
In the end, most of them went into the dumpster. Probably $100k worth of books purchased over the years, all obsolete and rotting in a hoarder's trove. I'd guess a couple of tons by weight.
I was really struck by the waste of it all, and it's dramatically altered my perception of owning books.
If you buy too many books, remember - your habits will eventually become somebody else's problem to deal with. You could be doing anything else with the money instead of wasting it on dead trees that somebody will eventually just have to throw away.
This sounds nice, but if the man filled 2500 sq feet with books and magazines and didn't read them, it sounds a bit more like an episode of Hoarders and it's certainly not healthy.
Maybe you're right. But it would have been better for all of his family if he'd literally lit that money on fire instead of buying thousands of unread books.
At least then, he wouldn't have left us with a huge problem to deal with in his wake.
It doesn't help you but perhaps it will help others - I moved recently and had a bunch of "junk" books similar to your grandfathers. By pure happenstance I found out that recyclers love books because they get the highest prices for clean paper in books. They happily showed up - for free - and helped cart out several bookcases of old, obsolete tech books. It was quite a godsend.
I have a different policy. I read a lot, but almost exclusively from the public library (which is very good, here in Copenhagen). If I like a book so much that I expect to read it again at least twice, then I may buy a copy. Last time I moved, I gave over half of my books away.
This. That's basically what I do too, with a small difference. First off: I usually keep all my text and non-fiction books, but I gave away most fiction. It doesn't matter if I bought it or got it from a public library. A lot of them just go back into another public library or just in front of my doorsteps for people to take em.
There are just some all time classics and fiction that struck me the right way at the right time, but I won't read most fiction a second time, so why keep em?
for those who haven't heard, Libby is an app that lets you borrow books (epub and audio) from your local library using a library card (in the US, can't verify other countries). it's' super easy and you can add multiple library cards to access several systems. completely free.
I’m fortunate in that I live a few hundred feet from a branch library with access to an awesome inter-library loan program.
To me, the ability to pick up a book and just start reading is amazing. Also, my wife is excellent at picking books for me, (better than me!) so it’s a sort of family activity.
I'm constantly amused by the regular spectacle of people being remotely interviewed, and the ubiquitous bookshelf just behind them. I bet they carefully curate the titles in view. I always want to challenge them on if they'd read any.
P.S. I have far, far, far more books than I could possibly read.
I second the far far far part. While I have surely close to https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblioth%C3%A8que_de_la_Pl%C..., they won't be shown in any calls, and I read just maybe 5 top. My reason, I see them as investment for later, one day, I'll have time, and if I don't, my daughter will. She already expressed crazily she wanted to read them but at 8, and considering my culture, it's hard to curate some accessible books. Well I know some are clearly not for her (Jin Ping Mei) .
I work with someone who has a bookshelf behind them containing books ordered by spine colour, making a spectrum. It’s very pretty, but I highly doubt she’s read any of them.
Lol. I thought about that setup, but then I stopped caring and started stacking academic article printouts I want to review in the background instead. Also, kid art. It's nice to see a four year old's interpretation of a parent as Spongebob.
A lot of people have already discussed the "presence" that a physical collection of books can have, so I'll touch on personalization. I adore public libraries, but one of the few downsides I find is the inability to mark up the books I borrow.
When I own a physical copy of a book, I can highlight things that stand out, jot down notes in the margins, add book darts to the pages where I want to quickly reference upon re-reads, etc. All of those things add a unique history to my particular copy of a book.
For me, it's always a joy to buy a used book that has been marked up like I tend to do. There may be many copies of that book, but there's something special about my copy—a shared experience with the previous owners.
Sure, an e-book can allow for bookmarks, highlights, and notes, but for some reason it just doesn't feel the same to me. It could even be argued that e-books provide a better experience for revisiting previous notes because of the search functions and the ease at which you can see markings, but there's something just... different about it.
E-books lack the same personality that I find my physical books to have. I certainly have a fair share of both e-books and physical, but for every inconvenience that the physical copies have, there's something special about them to me still.
Perhaps the inherent flaws with the physical manifestation of the books makes them inherently more relatable to me? A simple reminder that just as people are flawed, things can be too.
I love libraries, but I borrow rarely. Not much so that I like to markup, but more that I manhandle books, and they always look like trash after I've gone through them. The physicality of a book really is something dear to me. Dog earring a page to mark a spot, throwing across the bathroom to clear the puddles after reading in the tub, stuffing a paperback in a back pocket when going for a walk, ... Can't do that with a kindle, can't do that with a library book. So buying books it is.
I actually also have one! I like using it for a lot of things, like math, business meetings, etc. but it doesn't feel very responsive when using it to read / markup pdf's, and the ephemeral nature of data makes me feel less inclined to use that as a replacement for physical books.
Maybe I'm just stubborn, but a lot of what I enjoy about marking up a good book is the feeling that comes with it, and the Remarkable 2 just isn't quite as... visceral? Not really sure how to articulate the feeling but I definitely appreciate the suggestion! Great piece of tech!
I have enough books to read and I do enjoy reading a good number. At most times, I usually have a buffer of about 5-7 physical books, and little about 10-15 in digital unread.
The one thing I admire about my father-in-law are his books. He is into literature with lots written and published and still continuing to help other authors at 80+ years of age. I always have seen him amongst books and has a room full of books on the walls, floor, tables, and everywhere. His focus is specifically on folklores from around the world. He know where to go in USA or UK and buy very specific rare books (mostly used). I'm pretty sure he has read thousands and thousands more still unread in his library. He once sent me on an adventure looking for a specific library in Austin, Texas and see if I can buy/steal a particular book. I finally got someone ship a used copy to California, then to India.
I like the idea of having unread books around that I know I can read, and others that I can re-read. I'm, however, unsure if this is good or anything advantageous than anyone else that just reads what they want to or need to.
I own slightly more books than I have read. Previously I used to pile up books that I’d randomly buy.
But one thing I do differently is that I put a couple books in each place that I frequent. A couple in the living room while hanging out with my family, a couple in my office while a slow day at work, a couple in my bedroom for before sleeping, and a couple in a bag/car in case I don’t drive.
I’ve found the benefit of surrounding myself with books in this way to make it always guaranteed I will pickup one and read. I think this is different than having an expansive library or piles of books in a room.
This helps me read roughly 1-2 books a week and I simply order a new one to replace the book from the respective stack. I’m not a huge DNR person because it makes little sense nowadays that you can’t know enough about a book prior to buying it.
I source an extensive backlog of books I’m interested in and rank them by a loose definition of up to 5 star priority based on my interest when I log them down.
I feel like we are so spoiled to be able to source very good books and not waste our time with mediocre ones.
Readit News
The thing is though... we've read nearly all of them between us. We probably have only 2% unread at any given time. That's still a good stack of options to read next, still a whole shelf we haven't touched.
For time, books feel denser and richer compared to TV and most films. Only music and poetry feels as dense and rich.
I wish I could say that there was order to our shelves and there was once several orders! Some parts are by publisher, some parts by theme! Mostly we buy books and add them where there is space.
As to wishlists, we purchase when we see things we want and we're not using wishlists. The things we order tend to be obscure and rare - not valuable, just obscure - so if we don't get them at the time we might not see them again. There's something nice about this... books arrive constantly, and that means there's always something exciting to discover.
Edit: https://www.librarything.com/ is invaluable. We initially got it to help us catalogue things for insurance purposes, but it proves extremely helpful at preventing us from buying the same book twice. Most recently published books only need their barcode scanned or ISBN entered, only the old ones need manual entry.
If form can give rise to function, and I believe that it can, then this post and all the forums and blogs in the world serve a purpose totally at odds with the purpose of physical books. So.. I envy your library and hope you'll keep adding to it, and pass on your reverence of it.
For me it's rather it gives them presence rather than permanence. A book on a shelf is filling a space. It's visible. It's available for anyone to have a look. A book on an eink device is hidden. It's invisible. It's barely accessible. You could have thousands of books on an ebook reader and nobody would know it, because they can't see any of it.
For the cost of one episode of Game of Thrones, you could publish hundreds of books. Even cheap garbage like reality TV costs enough per episode to publish several books (through a real publisher, would be even more if you count self-publishing).
It's like a slow version of having a drink or weed to get mildly randomized and form new ideas you would/could never while sober.
It's like the difference between directed and basic research. You need them both.
So the ordered bookshelf is necessary if you know what you want. It's a database.
But the unordered bookshelf is maybe not strictly necessary but certainly facilitates when you don't know what you want, or you don't even have a want but are simply open to seeing what happens for a bit. I cannot have a novel idea through intention, it must be instigated by something random.
unfortunately books are one of the most annoying things when you move.
I used to own a quite large stash of them, in the hundreds, not thousands, but started moving a lot, like every 6 months and I began hating them. Now they all live inside boxes in the basement of my house. I don't think I'm going to take them out anytime soon.
After a relative died, I was in their house while it was being cleaned up. They had a huge library of books, but a lot of them were unreadable because of mold/mildew and other issues (not just the typical lovely old book smell). It was such a pity.
As for what happens after our death, entropy by bureaucracy... the Crown will get the whole estate and eventually will figure it out. No living relatives, so who knows... not our problem.
https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/43290-we-love-to-buy-books-...
"Buying books would be a good thing if one could also buy the time to read them in: but as a rule the purchase of books is mistaken for the appropriation of their contents." -- Arthur Schopenhauer
https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/arthur_schopenhauer_12105...
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoAk7zBTrvo>
The man had a 5-bedroom 2500 sqft house, basically full wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling with books and magazines. Most of them were clearly unread.
Getting rid of all of the books was a big effort. Both physically and mentally. Turns out that not too many too many places want to take a bunch of obsolete computer books, and we didn't have the luxury of a couple of years to sell them all on Amazon or something.
It was a burden on all of us. Image a week-long bucket brigade from upstairs and downstairs. Every armful got heavier and heavier.
In the end, most of them went into the dumpster. Probably $100k worth of books purchased over the years, all obsolete and rotting in a hoarder's trove. I'd guess a couple of tons by weight.
I was really struck by the waste of it all, and it's dramatically altered my perception of owning books.
If you buy too many books, remember - your habits will eventually become somebody else's problem to deal with. You could be doing anything else with the money instead of wasting it on dead trees that somebody will eventually just have to throw away.
It was better than our netflix/amazon/audible/disney/spotify/pandora/... media subscriptions.
At least then, he wouldn't have left us with a huge problem to deal with in his wake.
it's unfortunate that you got saddled with the cleanup of so much stuff.
A family member died and it took the nearest living relative ~ 1 year to empty, clean and prepare the house for sale.
There are just some all time classics and fiction that struck me the right way at the right time, but I won't read most fiction a second time, so why keep em?
To me, the ability to pick up a book and just start reading is amazing. Also, my wife is excellent at picking books for me, (better than me!) so it’s a sort of family activity.
P.S. I have far, far, far more books than I could possibly read.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dZznfGPYRY
Deleted Comment
When I own a physical copy of a book, I can highlight things that stand out, jot down notes in the margins, add book darts to the pages where I want to quickly reference upon re-reads, etc. All of those things add a unique history to my particular copy of a book.
For me, it's always a joy to buy a used book that has been marked up like I tend to do. There may be many copies of that book, but there's something special about my copy—a shared experience with the previous owners.
Sure, an e-book can allow for bookmarks, highlights, and notes, but for some reason it just doesn't feel the same to me. It could even be argued that e-books provide a better experience for revisiting previous notes because of the search functions and the ease at which you can see markings, but there's something just... different about it.
E-books lack the same personality that I find my physical books to have. I certainly have a fair share of both e-books and physical, but for every inconvenience that the physical copies have, there's something special about them to me still.
Perhaps the inherent flaws with the physical manifestation of the books makes them inherently more relatable to me? A simple reminder that just as people are flawed, things can be too.
Maybe I'm just stubborn, but a lot of what I enjoy about marking up a good book is the feeling that comes with it, and the Remarkable 2 just isn't quite as... visceral? Not really sure how to articulate the feeling but I definitely appreciate the suggestion! Great piece of tech!
The one thing I admire about my father-in-law are his books. He is into literature with lots written and published and still continuing to help other authors at 80+ years of age. I always have seen him amongst books and has a room full of books on the walls, floor, tables, and everywhere. His focus is specifically on folklores from around the world. He know where to go in USA or UK and buy very specific rare books (mostly used). I'm pretty sure he has read thousands and thousands more still unread in his library. He once sent me on an adventure looking for a specific library in Austin, Texas and see if I can buy/steal a particular book. I finally got someone ship a used copy to California, then to India.
I like the idea of having unread books around that I know I can read, and others that I can re-read. I'm, however, unsure if this is good or anything advantageous than anyone else that just reads what they want to or need to.
But one thing I do differently is that I put a couple books in each place that I frequent. A couple in the living room while hanging out with my family, a couple in my office while a slow day at work, a couple in my bedroom for before sleeping, and a couple in a bag/car in case I don’t drive.
I’ve found the benefit of surrounding myself with books in this way to make it always guaranteed I will pickup one and read. I think this is different than having an expansive library or piles of books in a room.
This helps me read roughly 1-2 books a week and I simply order a new one to replace the book from the respective stack. I’m not a huge DNR person because it makes little sense nowadays that you can’t know enough about a book prior to buying it.
I source an extensive backlog of books I’m interested in and rank them by a loose definition of up to 5 star priority based on my interest when I log them down.
I feel like we are so spoiled to be able to source very good books and not waste our time with mediocre ones.