It's fair to say that physical books may become obsolete in the next 30 years, but I refuse to give up on them. In Indonesia, where I live, literacy rates are among the lowest in the world, with only 1 out of every 1000 people reading a book. Despite this, I am determined to continue reading and collecting physical books, and to spread the love of reading to others. I may not have the same platform offline as I once did, but I am extending my reach online by managing book communities with other passionate book lovers. Ironically, despite calling myself a minimalist, I have a hard time applying that philosophy to my books. However, my approach to building my collection has been to focus on meaning and significance, rather than quantity. I strive to curate a collection of books that have personal value and will enrich my life, rather than simply accumulating a large number of books for the sake of having them.
I have always enjoyed reading and collecting books. However, acquiring books can be costly, so it sometimes takes me a while to save up and purchase the works of my favorite authors. I am grateful when I am given books as gifts, as it allows me to expand my collection without incurring extra expenses. When I was in university, we were often provided with reading materials in the form of PDFs. Some people would print these materials to save money, but I quickly realized that this practice is illegal and unethical. Unfortunately, I still see people doing this today, despite the legal and moral implications. The same also applies with music and movies.
In the last five years, I have been fortunate enough to collect the works of Fitzgerald, Jules Verne, and Kafka. However, there are still many authors that I have yet to add to my collection, such as Hardy, Shakespeare, Jack Kerouac, and Orwell. I also plan to acquire some self-help books in print, including the works of Mark Manson and Yuval Noah Harari, as I believe these books will be meaningful and enriching additions to my collections. There is also a collection from Matt Haig that I want to add to my collection. I was inspired to buy his books after reading reviews by @annacarstairs, who convinced me to purchase it.
Currently, my book collection is growing and becoming more disorganized. That’s why I am calling my mom for help to organize it. She’ll come to visit me for the holiday and also help me organize my books. When I said that my room is a mess, she instantly knew that I've been sleeping with books. I have a habit of sleeping with many books, and it's a dream come true for me that I am now able to get paid for reading (read:curating) 😀. I am grateful for the opportunity to do something that brings me so much joy and fulfillment.
As my collection grows, I realize that I need to be more selective and let go of books that no longer bring me meaning or enjoyment. From now on, I plan to be more mindful and deliberate in my book purchases, only acquiring books that I truly want to read and learn from. In today's digital age, I do enjoy the convenience of audiobooks and ebooks, but if I really love a book, I will make sure to add a print copy to my collection. There is something special about holding a physical book in my hands and having the ability to highlight them.
This post was inspired by a chapter in Letters from a Stoic that you can see above, which argues that reading too many books can be a distraction. The chapter advises that we should focus on a few books that will help us reach our goals and master our chosen field, and only indulge in books that carry significance. In short, we should learn from those who have mastered their craft and read their works.
Another reason I can add is that, I want to take care of my books properly. From my experience managing a library, I know that dust and dust mites can easily collect on books and cause allergies. I use mothballs to prevent damage from lice, but it's the dust that is most concerning to me. I want to keep my books clean and free from dust. I will show you my book revamp next week after I am organizing it with my mom. So, stay tuned!
 | 𝘔𝘢𝘤 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧-𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘫𝘢. 𝘈 𝘵𝘺𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴, 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘺, 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭, 𝘯𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘴, 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘺𝘭𝘦, 𝘤𝘺𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴. 𝘐𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘫𝘰𝘺𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘷𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴. 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘱𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘦, 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬. 𝘈 𝘳𝘦-𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥. |
I'm not a book collector, but I was (and still, but less) a book reader... Most of the books that I read, I was "renting" from the library... I suppose that was because of the lack of space in the apartment, or, have no idea... lol...
Checking out your favorite authors, I didn't have doubts that we will have a similar "taste"... Lol... Among, Scott Fitzgerald, Kafka, and Verne, I liked to read Ernest Hemingway or Jean-Paul Sartre, and to chill out the brain, Arthur Conan Doyle or Agatha Christie... 😀
Also, I liked a lot our school lectures, like Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy or The Stranger by Albert Camus...
Lately, I'm reading comics... lol... Not these Marvel/DC, but rather some "weird ones", by "less popular" authors... :)
I am really living surrounded with books. My space is tiny but they occupy 40% of my room. So, yeah😂. I always wanted to have Anna Karenina, I watched the movie and read the book at my uni library. I guess I'll be picking them up soon!
I felt a little identified with your post. I used to buy books because I liked the cover or because they were trendy and there was a lot of hype, accumulating, buying 1 or 2 volumes of a series that never ended because I didn't really like it that much. Now I'm more selective with what I buy, I already know what I'm going to like and what I probably won't. It's been several months since I bought a new book. I am reading my earrings and some digitally, I agree that when I am not sure about a story, I should read it beforehand in this format and if I really like it then I buy it in physical form.
You have a very nice collection with a personal brand, I love it 💜
Thank you so much. I hope you now will have a new consideration before purchasing new books.
They have been saying for years that the Physical book will be obsolete but I don't believe it. I'm a writer and a reader and there are also books that I prefer to have in physical and read them that way. The smell of a new book, touching its pages.... It's something more intimate than just reading it through a screen, at least for me. I still have some digital books because of their size and length it was complicated to take them with me (I usually take books with me when I travel by bus/train to read).
The issue of PDF downloads is horrible. My first novel was pirated, too.... If only people knew the pittance we writers get paid, to be pirated on top of that haha. And more so when we are lesser known/famous writers. When you buy a book there is a percentage of the profit that goes to the bookstore or establishment, another percentage to the publisher, another to the distributor who brought the book to the bookstores, and finally a tiny percentage to the author. At least that's how it works in Spain, where I live.
I'm sure your mom will help you organize them very well, moms have super powers with that.😊
You raised another point that I failed to mention. It's something intimate when you read it from the physical book compared to reading it from screen or even listening to audibook version. The publishing method I suppose is similar everywhere. That's the same here and it's just sad when the book is pirated. Piracy is rampant and inevitable but there are ways to combat it. As an Individual, I personally like to respect it. My mom was shocked seeing the state of my books and we'll be fixing today. Thanks for taking time to read and reply here.
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That reminds me, my daughter is buying books as well for her collection, might take her soon to the shop.