I have a book problem. But really, I have several book problems. One is that I can’t stop buying or otherwise acquiring them, even when I have an entire seven-shelf bookcase overfilled with books I haven’t read. This week, I brought home two on the same day: a book from the little free library at my local gym and one that was the original material for a play I attended in the evening.
But that’s not my only source of books. One of the reasons that I haven’t made much progress on my to-be-read shelves is that I keep getting books from the library. These are the ones I tend to finish or hold onto until I realize I’m not going to finish them. Often, I’ll be listening to a podcast or watching a video and hear about a book that sounds interesting, and hey, it’s available at the library!
For example, in Steve Kaufman’s recent video about learning languages by reading, he referenced the book Reading in the Brain: The Science and Evolution of a Human Invention by Stanislas Dehaene. I got the ebook from the library and found it an intriguing deep dive into what happens in the brain when we read and how the brain’s structure and wiring may have affected the development of writing. However, it’s a long book, so I likely won’t finish it.
My biggest issue lately is starting new books without finishing the previous one. Or the one before that. Or the one before that. I’m in the middle of at least seven books at the moment. How many of those will I actually finish? Only time will tell. One of the books I started before finishing the previous book (Reading in the Brain) was another book on reading: How to Talk About Books You Haven’t Read by Pierre Bayard. This was referenced in The Lady of the Library’s video on the weight of unread books. I’m enjoying the author’s arguments about what it means to have read a book (somewhat similar to arguments I’ve heard about what it means to “speak a language”), especially the examples from books I have never read (but have I, now that I know where these books fit into this particular conversation between books?). However, it’s a slow read, and I likely won’t finish it before I need to return the book.
I look back at the books I’ve read in the past few years, and there are plenty I barely remember. I picked up a book from a free library recently, then realized that I’d already read it. Oops. The question becomes why I’m reading these books. Am I reading them just to check them off? Am I hoping to learn things? Eddy Hood, host of the Read Well Podcast, advocates that people should “Read slowly. Take notes. Apply the ideas.” I’ve tried his process of taking notes, but when I realized partway through that the book wasn’t for me, it felt like a waste. But is reading a book and completely forgetting it any less of a waste?
I’m not sure how to cure my book problem. Or sort out my book backlog. Perhaps my biggest issue is not being able to drop something that isn’t working for me. After all, I’ve invested time and (sometimes) money. And, if it’s an ebook, I can’t donate it, give it to a friend, or sell it. It’s there forever (theoretically), waiting to be read. But the book Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman is a helpful reminder that we have a limited amount of time and need to choose how best to use it. If a book doesn’t work for you right now, you have permission to let it go.
In addition to those I’ve mentioned, I’m also in the middle of the following books:
- Hur mår du? Jag hoppas att du mår bra: En bok för dig som vill läsa på svenska (How are you? I hope you’re doing well: A book for you who want to read in Swedish) by Oskar Nyström
- Ronja rövardotter by Astrid Lindgren
- Happy: Why More or Less Everything Is Actually Fine by Derren Brown
- Linguistics: A Complete Introduction by David Hornsby
- Love Tales of Ancient Japan by Kyota Ko
Perhaps I can put those all back on the shelf–get off my back!–and see which I pick up again later. And if I end up picking up something else, the previous book may not be for me.
What book is dragging you down or holding you back?
Numberless Dreams 