I ordered books about ten days ago and still haven’t received them, but that’s not the point. It’s about buying books, reading them, buying them, buying them, putting them on the shelf, buying them and buying more.
I tried to keep a list of all the books I bought and read between 2015 and 2020 as regularly and periodically as I could, but at some point I lost that discipline. I don’t know exactly what caused this, but I think the availability of dozens of books after a certain point is the main cause of my confusion.
At first, the problem was not the sheer number of books, but the fact that I was writing them down in as sequential an order as possible. I would order books, read them and record them all at the same time. At some point, however, recording the books I bought took precedence over my reading. It was a situation that challenged my obsessive archival organisation and annoyed me.
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There is a word called “tsundoku”, it is a Japanese word and it started to be used between 1868–1912 called the Meiji period. It emphasises the constant gathering of books in one place. You know, there is a lifesaver chair where the clothes that are taken off are constantly collected, you can think of it as a book containing version of that. The pattern of books that are constantly bought but not read creates a tsundoku.
What comes to mind now is: “Since book prices unfortunately fluctuate all the time, I either wait for the discount time or try to avoid the prices I find excessive by buying in bulk”. Although I think this idea is correct, it is also true that it causes tsundoku. The main thing should be to read the books we buy, but we should not deny that we do not do so. “If there are so many books to read, how are we going to catch up?” This naturally leads to accumulation and congestion.
If you don’t feel empty inside when you’re not buying and hoarding books, don’t worry, you’re not a bibliomaniac. I guess we can say that making tsundoku is a harmless version of it. On the other hand, you may have thought that stacks of books of different colours, types and sizes, piled on top of each other, whose weight is not immediately apparent, are actually beautiful to look at.
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So let’s have a look. Apart from the example above, why do people who buy books tend to do so regularly? When you think about it, there are actually a lot of reasons.
For many people, books mean knowledge. And they are right to think so; books are a mass of thousands of pieces of information that we think are right or wrong, necessary or unnecessary. This means that when we buy these books, we must actually create the idea that we are directly buying information. In other words, if we feel the need to feel good about something, we buy at least one book, and I think we feel that we are getting an idea about the subject or confirming our existing opinion. Do you think we consolidate our knowledge on the subject when we buy in bulk?
Of course, for some people, knowledge has other meanings. Firstly, there is the well-known adage that “Knowledge is power.” As such, it lends itself well to being displayed as an object of prestige. Imagine walking into a huge library with tons of books. You will see the power of attraction. But would they have the same effect if all the books were identical, or if we knew they were full of false information?
So we also see that books are a tool that reflects the ego. It can be an interesting way of saying “Look, I’ve read them and I even know them.” However, it is quite unconscious to think that we are knowledgeable without reading them (even if we read them, we may not be able to understand or benefit from them). Besides, if we knew more, we would know how little we know.
At worst, books are a decorative element. This is actually my least favourite point. Because decoration provides aesthetics, and if aesthetics do not reflect an artistic point of view, I think books become victims of popular culture. Think of the books in the cafes you go to, grinning pointlessly and having nothing to do with each other. None of them know anything about each other, or even two opposite books are placed next to each other. This kind of inappropriate decoration seems to me to be an unpleasant, illogical and disrespectful image. I will not even mention the negative impact of social media on this issue.
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So let’s think about what we should do. In addition to the aesthetic aspects of books, feeling their weight, recognising the dignity of their authors and the subjects they deal with, we should not forget that they are actually tools. Umberto Eco is said to have more than thirty thousand (30000) books in his library. He says that he divides those who react when they see his library into two categories. Those who ask why he has so many books and are surprised, and those who realise that books contribute to his research and creation rather than being a tool to glorify one’s ego. As you might have guessed, the second group is in the minority.
I think we all have an emotional connection with books (apart from the materialistic part). I do too. I hesitate to share them (unpleasant memories), I still haven’t touched many of them with a pen (thoughts I don’t welcome). It reminds me a little of the kings of old who were buried with their favourite possessions. But our books, whatever their value, are only useful for the moment.
This reminds me of another saying that I find hard to get out of my head: “There are many books to read and little time to live.” I think this is an inevitable phenomenon. Just as my reading rate cannot keep up with the books I buy and the records I keep, so no matter how much we read, there is absolutely no end to it. On the contrary, shouldn’t that be a good thing? Why do we strive to learn everything, to catch up with everything? Do we really manage to do these things when we try anyway?
I think rushing is one of the biggest factors. “Let me make time for this, let me learn this, let me know the most.” Instead, let us have a book, read it deeply, read it again. Let’s understand it thoroughly and form ideas about it beyond receiving what we want; let’s discuss, contradict, cause the birth of new ideas. I believe that the formation of well-founded thoughts, logical minds and rational ideologies depends on grasping what exists rather than dominating diversity.
An antilibrary is a collection of books that are owned but have not yet been read.
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