Reading Books vs. Collecting Books

I recently saw some discussion on the Whetstone sword & sorcery Discord server about reading vs. collecting books and getting to the point of having so many books that you’ll never be able to read them all. It got me thinking about all the books I have.

Not all readers are also collectors but I sure am. I love spending time browsing independent and used bookstores. I think of myself as a reader first, but as a collector I’m always on the lookout for something interesting or books by favorite authors I haven’t read yet. I order books when I have to but finding something in the wild is so much more fun than ordering online. My ever-growing collection includes paperbacks and hardcovers as well as a huge number of books on my Kindle. 

Here are some quotes from writers that have helped me deal with the fact that I’m never going to read “all the books.”

This one puts a positive spin on things:

“Every morning, I have woken up knowing that I will never run out of books to read.” 

— Kenzaburo Oe 

I really like this quote which describes books as things in life we need:

“It is foolish to think that you have to read all the books you buy, as it is foolish to criticize those who buy more books than they will ever be able to read. It would be like saying that you should use all the cutlery or glasses or screwdrivers or drill bits you bought before buying new ones. There are things in life that we need to always have plenty of supplies, even if we will only use a small portion. If, for example, we consider books as medicine, we understand that it is good to have many at home rather than a few: when you want to feel better, then go to the ‘medicine closet’ and choose a book. Not a random one, but the right book for that moment.” — Umberto Eco

To me reading and collecting are two different things and I think of my collection as my library. So, to finish up I’ll end with one of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite authors. 

“Who wants a library full of books you’ve already read?” — Harlan Ellison from “Paladin of the Lost Hour”