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#Microblog Monday 331: Good Feelings About Unread Books

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I have a lot of unread books. I give priority to library books because they may not be accessible forever whereas books I own will always be here. But it means that the books pile up—books I really want to read—because I push them off for books on my library holds list. It gives me anxiety.

But calling those unread books an antilibrary makes me feel good about my book hoarding. Especially with this quote:

Instead of a celebration of everything you know, an antilibrary is an ode to everything you want to explore. The vastness of the unknown can feel terrifying, which is why many people feel uncomfortable with the idea of accumulating books they haven’t read. But embracing the unknown is what drives discovery.

Three cheers for the antilibrary.

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6 comments

1 loribeth { 12.28.20 at 8:43 am }

“An ode to everything you want to explore.” Yes!! My anti-library is probably more of an opus than a mere ode, lol — but I love the idea!

2 Jess { 12.28.20 at 12:21 pm }

Ooh, love this. That is the thing I hated about Marie Kondo’s book, is that she said if you haven’t read a book you’ve had for 3 months, you’ll never read it and should toss it out. LIES! SACRILEGE! It’s an antilibrary, lady! I love pulling books from mine and remembering where I was when I got it, who recommended it, and knowing that past me knew there’d be a time when I needed that exact book. I could not love this more!

3 Sharon { 12.28.20 at 1:05 pm }

I do the same. I have done better about purchasing fewer books over the past few years (no, I’m not down to zero, but I’m buying less), but I still have almost 50 physical books sitting on my shelf to be read.

I am actually doing the challenge on The Unread Shelf this year in the hope of reducing that number. But I do like this idea.

4 Lori Lavender Luz { 12.28.20 at 1:55 pm }

OMG, I love that. SO MUCH I want to explore and so little time on the planet to do so. Reframes all that goes unread from “you’re such a slacker” to “you’re so curious!”

5 Chandra Lynn { 12.28.20 at 9:18 pm }

I love the idea of an antilibrary! I’m afraid, though, that my antilibrary might be bigger than my “read” library. I might have to try Sharon’s “Unread Shelf” challenge mentioned above in 2021.

6 Phoenix { 12.31.20 at 12:06 pm }

I love this!! The antilibrary. Thank you for sharing! I always viewed my unread books as a research vault so this article made me feel very validated. 🙂

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