Accumulation of books we have not read :)

As suggested by other members of this group, I am starting a new topic for our conversation about a familiar-to-us-all subject: accumulation of books we want to read, but have not read.
Each one of us deals with this "issue" in a different way. Some have to-be-read lists and go through them systematically; others go through their lists sporadically; and, yet, many others do not have lists at all.
Do you intend to read all the books you purchase?
Let's talk about this and all related subjects.

If I live forever, maybe.

Most of my many unread books are those that I'd like to read someday. I've just bought them ahead of time.

The truth is, I just love having lots of books around me. I can cite various reasons that are at least partially true. They provide a source of reading material; they make visible my sense of wonder at the vastness books & writing, of the body of human knowledge and creativity; and I also feel them as a sort of protective wall in a very uncertain world. None of those seems like a good enough reason. I have the sense of wonder anyway, the protective wall is as uncertain as the world; and as for being a source of reading material, it's true -- but how many other book people are familiar with the syndrome of being in a house with thousands of books and crying out "what am I going to read now?" And I also love buying books, haunting used book stores. I know I'll never read them all, but that statement inverted turns into "I'll never run out".

There are a number of good essays on the topic. One good one is Kevin Dickinson on BigThink:
https://bigthink.com/neuropsych/do-i-own-too-many-books/ The post by Maria Popova which he cites is another.

I very much doubt that I will ever read all of my books. For one thing I own multiple copies of some titles, so I will not be reading more than one of the copies in most cases. Of course in some cases the book has been edited over time, and I may wish to read more than one edition to see what changes were made. Plus I buy many books more for the illustrations, so I may or may not have an interest in reading the book. In some cases I buy very obscure titles to add to a certain collection that I own. I want it for the collection, but I may not get around to reading the actual book. I do read a good portion, of what I buy, but I doubt that I will ever read every book.

Much like Bernarrd, although I intend to read the books I purchase, I doubt I will ever read all of them. I have, however, read a great many of them and I do not worry about those I haven't gotten around to yet, so I don't have a "list" of books to read. I just take each one as I get the urge to pick it up and read it. I expect to go to the grave with lots of unread books about me. Life is too short!

>3 rshart3: This is almost exactly where I stand on this question. Thanks for putting the case so well. Basically, I just love having books around me. There is a quote by some French philosopher or other that I can't lay my hands on at the moment in which he says, to paraphrase, "Owning more books than you can possibly read in your lifetime is a person's way of reaching toward the infinite." Something like that.

>3 rshart3:
"I just love having lots of books around me."
This is EXACTLY how I feel. There is something magical in being surrounded by books. Thank you for the link to a very interesting and though-provoking article that includes also references to several other interesting articles. I read quite a few of them last night.

I do not like the term "antilibrary", as it (indirectly) implies that library normally constitutes only of books that we have read, which is not true. Nor do I like terms borrowed from a language I cannot understand even a little - the subtle implications of such a term are lost on me.
I am not sure we need a special term for literature we have not read but own; however, I think that it should be in English.

I own many books that are collection of stories. If I once in a while pick up a book and read one story from it, does it count as I have read the book??
If I read a few stories from a set of books of stories, does it count as I have read the set? Similarly, if I read a volume from a multi-volume collection...
The articles seem to imply that the answer to these questions might be, yes.

I know for sure that I will not be able to read all of my books.

There was an article about this a few years ago. (I, too, have a steam collection of tbp...)

I buy a lot of books from thrift stores, yard sales, and ebook .99 deals I use my credit card rewards to buy. Mostly if it looks interesting or will go with my specific collections or maybe just has a neat cover/ illustrations. I have about 6k e-books that I really should add to LT eventually. I've tried to hold off on paper books in recent years since space is limited.

If it's fiction, I read the blurb on the back, the reviews with summaries, and maybe a wiki article or book review to decide if I would read it later. Some of them get put on hold though, if it's part of a series, because I prefer to binge read. But since one could wait for years for a series to be finished, they sometimes never get read. Also, I have a habit of not finishing books if I don't like them, so some get set on the shelf unfinished indefinitely. Rarely, will I give it a second chance (but I do reread stories I like).

For non-fiction, I try to skim it immediately after buying. Maybe the back, the reviews, and then the chapter summaries. I use these mainly for reference so they may never get read verbatim but I do familiarize myself with them to know where to find information later on. (For cookbooks, I try one recipe right away and then add it to the tbr pile.) Some of them I do try to read completely, but even an interesting subject can fall flat with poor writing.

>7 booksforreading: "I own many books that are collection of stories. If I once in a while pick up a book and read one story from it, does it count as I have read the book??"
Very good question. I'm not sure of the right answer. Operationally, for me: I keep a database of books read, and for that I include books where I've read at least most of it. But it does come up with lots of types of books; not just short stories as in your example, but essays, anthologies, and nonfiction books consisting of chapters by different contributors.

I make lists of chores to do or errands to run, but not of books. I know what books I've read or hope to read, what books I didn't finish and why. Hopefully we all read for pleasure and stimulation, not out of obligation or from anxiety about some future judgment. What does it matter if we have read only one or two stories from a collection, or only one book of Balzac's Human Comedy or only one of the U.S.A. trilogy of John Dos Passos? No one is keeping score.

Books are my companions, both in their known rewards and in their potential. I don't ponder about it much more than that. Tsundoku seems like a useful word. English has absorbed words from other languages for hundreds of years, so why not this one? Antilibrary is an ugly word that suggests a preference for ignorance.

Limits - "Borges"

Through the dawning window night withdraws
And among the stacked books which throw
Irregular shadows on the dim table,
There must be one which I will never read.

... Just one paragraph of a poem I relate to, the older I get.

This discussion made me feel so much better about numerous books in my library that I have not read! :)
A separate philosophical question might be this: if, as several articles say, our unread library teaches us humility and reminds us of what we do not know, but at the same time our individual book purchasing choices shape the areas of "unknown" for each of us, maybe it is what we already know that shapes our unread library? :)

Even accidental, unplanned book purchases are usually done for books on the subjects that we enjoy or that we want to learn about. The feeling of "I have not read this, but I can always do it if I want", makes the unread library more a "reference library" - doesn't this make us feel more "accomplished" than "humbled"? Both??

Anyway, I might not be making any sense. It has been a very long week for me, so my mind is not working properly...