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I have a large-ish library (by personal standards) that spans multiple rooms in my small house. When I invite people over I will, without fail, get one of two

I have a large-ish library (by personal standards) that spans multiple rooms in my small house. When I invite people over I will, without fail, get one of two responses: 1. "Wow, have you read all these books?" means "I never read books." 2. Scans shelves..."Oh that's a great book...I haven't heard of this author – any good?" means "I read a lot." I'm used to the books and don't get any pride from them but it's amazing how quickly you can tell how literate someone is by their behavior in even a small library.

OJFord 4y ago
I don't know, I like reading, I like books, and I like owning the books I am reading or have read (especially if I liked them). But I do have many books I haven't (yet) read, or have only partially read (especially textbooks and some biographies). It's a hobby I don't spend as much time on as I'd like. I have.. hundreds (I mean that literally - not tens, nor thousands; I don't know exactly the number) of books, a small number across a few rooms. Certainly fewer than you. Were I in your house, I might be inclined to ask if, like me, you slightly veer into ~hoarding~ collecting rather than having read them all; perhaps telling yourself you certainly will, as the backlog only grows ever longer, or whether I should feel ashamed because you actually have read them all and it's a much larger hoard.
- ARandomerDude 4y ago
  I have many books I haven't read. When I am exploring a subject, I'll often hear a subject matter expert say "the go-to text on this is $BOOK." At that point, I buy the book if I have a reasonable expectation that I'll actually read it. Some books I only reference or read partially if the subject is pretty well divisible. I read a few tens of books per year but my queue is a couple years long. No big deal, I don't feel pressure to get through it.
- groby_b 4y ago
  It is not hoarding - it's aspirational collecting :) Most people who love books have entire stacks that they haven't read yet. Because your love means there are just so many of them you'd like to have in your life. And the fact that even on a low income, the cost of reading often vastly outstrips the cost of buying (in terms of time) means that sometimes, you'll choose to collect more instead of finish what you have. Is it smart? I don't know. I like to think that the unread books are like way posts showing me the direction into unknown terrain I'd like to explore but can't just yet. I have not seen the dragons, but the book reminds me "there be dragons". The joy is in knowing that the world is so much bigger than anything you deeply know. Maybe that's hoarding. Maybe it's defining your place in the world. Maybe it's the comfort that you could know in a moment, if you but chose to. If it gives you joy, who cares :)
  - uwagar 4y ago
    Japanese have a word for unread stacks: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsundoku https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsundoku
- im3w1l 4y ago
  What's the point of owning books, when you can take the just-in-time approach of having as little inventory as possible and getting books whenever you need them? I think this has to center around the question of whether you can get the books whenever you need them. First there is the effort. A book in your shelf can be accessed on a moments notice. This certainly matters for books you might want to reference. Second is price. Books can often be gotten for a bargain from a flea market or a library that is making space for new books, or a bookstore that goes bust. Third is the possibility that a book will just be unavailable. Maybe it gets banned or maybe society collapses around you and all copies are lost. This risk is low but not negligible. Then there are also other functions a book in a bookshelf performs, apart from easy access. It's a nice aesthetic. And it can help inspiration and discovery.
- mehrshad 4y ago
  “The buying of more books than one can read is nothing less than the soul reaching toward infinity.” -A. Edward Newton
corrral 4y ago
> 1. "Wow, have you read all these books?" means "I never read books." There's a short story, I think in one of my New Hugo Winners volumes, in which a character responds to that question with something like, "who the hell wants a library full of books they've already read?!" But yes, that's definitely the kind of question only someone who doesn't read much would ask. A great tell. [EDIT] Or, I guess, maybe a kid from a certain kind of background, reader or not, which I think might have been the case in that story, but from an adult? Yeah, pretty good signal.
- EdwardDiego 4y ago
  I tend to buy books that I found so great that I want to loan (Well, usually turns into gifting when it's books) to others. I've bought several copies of loangifted books now...
- ThrowawayR2 4y ago
  Perhaps inspired from the real world author, Umberto Eco? "... The writer Umberto Eco belongs to that small class of scholars who are encyclopedic, insightful, and nondull. He is the owner of a large personal library (containing thirty thousand books), and separates visitors into two categories: those who react with “Wow! Signore professore dottore Eco, what a library you have! How many of these books have you read?” and the others—a very small minority—who get the point that a private library is not an ego-boosting appendage but a research tool. Read books are far less valuable than unread ones. The library should contain as much of what you do not know as your financial means, mortgage rates, and the currently tight real-estate market allows you to put there. You will accumulate more knowledge and more books as you grow older, and the growing number of unread books on the shelves will look at you menacingly. Indeed, the more you know, the larger the rows of unread books. Let us call this collection of unread books an antilibrary. ..."
  - rramadass 4y ago
    I came across this passage in NNT's works and i think it needs a little bit more elaboration for people to "get" it; 1) The "unread" books constitute the "known unknowns". They confirm the fact that you have mapped out a little bit more of the "unknown territory of knowledge" and can go explore them whenever you are in mind. 2) Having a large set of "unread" books keeps your curiosity, motivation and a sense of "knowledge exploration" alive. These are the driving forces which make "existence" bearable. Most people do not get out of their immediate sensory gratification bubble and are unaware of the "intellectual joy" outside of it. The above two factors have what has made "Civilization" as we know it, possible.
friendlyHornet 4y ago
> 1. "Wow, have you read all these books?" means "I never read books." How did you come to this generalisation? I read a lot and have asked that exact question to friends who have a very large library I also have several books in my library that I haven't gotten to reading or only briefly skimmed through parts of, so if someone asked me that question about library (which is only a few shelves, as the bulk of my books are on my kindle), my answer would be no
mmmpop 4y ago
How exactly are you defining “literate” here? In my mind it’s “one’s ability to read and comprehend written text” but you seem to imply that it’s “one’s propensity to consume literature”?
Jun8 4y ago
Umberto Eco’s answer to the very same question: “"In the past I adopted a tone of contemptuous sarcasm. ’I haven’t read any of them; otherwise, why would I keep them here?’ But this is a dangerous answer because it invites the obvious follow-up: ’And where do you put them after you’ve read them?’ The best answer is the one always used by Roberto Leydi: ’And more, dear sir, many more,’ which freezes the adversary and plunges him into a state of awed admiration. But I find it merciless and angst-generating. Now I have falled back upon the riposte: ’No, these are the ones I have to read by the end of the month. I keep the others in my office,’ a reply that on the one hand suggests a sublime ergonomic strategy, and on the other hand leads the visitor to hasten the moment of his departure." I have my business Zoom meetings in our (relatively small) library, with the bookshelves as the backdrop and I get this question every time!

OJFord 4y ago

I don't know, I like reading, I like books, and I like owning the books I am reading or have read (especially if I liked them). But I do have many books I haven't (yet) read, or have only partially read (especially textbooks and some biographies). It's a hobby I don't spend as much time on as I'd like. I have.. hundreds (I mean that literally - not tens, nor thousands; I don't know exactly the number) of books, a small number across a few rooms. Certainly fewer than you. Were I in your house, I might be inclined to ask if, like me, you slightly veer into ~hoarding~ collecting rather than having read them all; perhaps telling yourself you certainly will, as the backlog only grows ever longer, or whether I should feel ashamed because you actually have read them all and it's a much larger hoard.

ARandomerDude 4y ago
I have many books I haven't read. When I am exploring a subject, I'll often hear a subject matter expert say "the go-to text on this is $BOOK." At that point, I buy the book if I have a reasonable expectation that I'll actually read it. Some books I only reference or read partially if the subject is pretty well divisible. I read a few tens of books per year but my queue is a couple years long. No big deal, I don't feel pressure to get through it.
groby_b 4y ago
It is not hoarding - it's aspirational collecting :) Most people who love books have entire stacks that they haven't read yet. Because your love means there are just so many of them you'd like to have in your life. And the fact that even on a low income, the cost of reading often vastly outstrips the cost of buying (in terms of time) means that sometimes, you'll choose to collect more instead of finish what you have. Is it smart? I don't know. I like to think that the unread books are like way posts showing me the direction into unknown terrain I'd like to explore but can't just yet. I have not seen the dragons, but the book reminds me "there be dragons". The joy is in knowing that the world is so much bigger than anything you deeply know. Maybe that's hoarding. Maybe it's defining your place in the world. Maybe it's the comfort that you could know in a moment, if you but chose to. If it gives you joy, who cares :)
- uwagar 4y ago
  Japanese have a word for unread stacks: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsundoku https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsundoku
im3w1l 4y ago
What's the point of owning books, when you can take the just-in-time approach of having as little inventory as possible and getting books whenever you need them? I think this has to center around the question of whether you can get the books whenever you need them. First there is the effort. A book in your shelf can be accessed on a moments notice. This certainly matters for books you might want to reference. Second is price. Books can often be gotten for a bargain from a flea market or a library that is making space for new books, or a bookstore that goes bust. Third is the possibility that a book will just be unavailable. Maybe it gets banned or maybe society collapses around you and all copies are lost. This risk is low but not negligible. Then there are also other functions a book in a bookshelf performs, apart from easy access. It's a nice aesthetic. And it can help inspiration and discovery.
mehrshad 4y ago
“The buying of more books than one can read is nothing less than the soul reaching toward infinity.” -A. Edward Newton

corrral 4y ago

> 1. "Wow, have you read all these books?" means "I never read books." There's a short story, I think in one of my New Hugo Winners volumes, in which a character responds to that question with something like, "who the hell wants a library full of books they've already read?!" But yes, that's definitely the kind of question only someone who doesn't read much would ask. A great tell. [EDIT] Or, I guess, maybe a kid from a certain kind of background, reader or not, which I think might have been the case in that story, but from an adult? Yeah, pretty good signal.

EdwardDiego 4y ago
I tend to buy books that I found so great that I want to loan (Well, usually turns into gifting when it's books) to others. I've bought several copies of loangifted books now...
ThrowawayR2 4y ago
Perhaps inspired from the real world author, Umberto Eco? "... The writer Umberto Eco belongs to that small class of scholars who are encyclopedic, insightful, and nondull. He is the owner of a large personal library (containing thirty thousand books), and separates visitors into two categories: those who react with “Wow! Signore professore dottore Eco, what a library you have! How many of these books have you read?” and the others—a very small minority—who get the point that a private library is not an ego-boosting appendage but a research tool. Read books are far less valuable than unread ones. The library should contain as much of what you do not know as your financial means, mortgage rates, and the currently tight real-estate market allows you to put there. You will accumulate more knowledge and more books as you grow older, and the growing number of unread books on the shelves will look at you menacingly. Indeed, the more you know, the larger the rows of unread books. Let us call this collection of unread books an antilibrary. ..."
- rramadass 4y ago
  I came across this passage in NNT's works and i think it needs a little bit more elaboration for people to "get" it; 1) The "unread" books constitute the "known unknowns". They confirm the fact that you have mapped out a little bit more of the "unknown territory of knowledge" and can go explore them whenever you are in mind. 2) Having a large set of "unread" books keeps your curiosity, motivation and a sense of "knowledge exploration" alive. These are the driving forces which make "existence" bearable. Most people do not get out of their immediate sensory gratification bubble and are unaware of the "intellectual joy" outside of it. The above two factors have what has made "Civilization" as we know it, possible.

friendlyHornet 4y ago

> 1. "Wow, have you read all these books?" means "I never read books." How did you come to this generalisation? I read a lot and have asked that exact question to friends who have a very large library I also have several books in my library that I haven't gotten to reading or only briefly skimmed through parts of, so if someone asked me that question about library (which is only a few shelves, as the bulk of my books are on my kindle), my answer would be no

mmmpop 4y ago

How exactly are you defining “literate” here? In my mind it’s “one’s ability to read and comprehend written text” but you seem to imply that it’s “one’s propensity to consume literature”?

Jun8 4y ago

Umberto Eco’s answer to the very same question: “"In the past I adopted a tone of contemptuous sarcasm. ’I haven’t read any of them; otherwise, why would I keep them here?’ But this is a dangerous answer because it invites the obvious follow-up: ’And where do you put them after you’ve read them?’ The best answer is the one always used by Roberto Leydi: ’And more, dear sir, many more,’ which freezes the adversary and plunges him into a state of awed admiration. But I find it merciless and angst-generating. Now I have falled back upon the riposte: ’No, these are the ones I have to read by the end of the month. I keep the others in my office,’ a reply that on the one hand suggests a sublime ergonomic strategy, and on the other hand leads the visitor to hasten the moment of his departure." I have my business Zoom meetings in our (relatively small) library, with the bookshelves as the backdrop and I get this question every time!