I went to the library on Thursday to grab a couple of books for a post next week on a local author for GalleySmith’s Literary Road Trip. One book I got took me into the library’s essay section, somewhere I actually haven’t browsed in a long time.
I love reading great personal essays and essay-length journalism. It’s a form I want to emulate, and I find writers in that genre never cease to amaze me. What struck me in the library was something that I’ve always known but never really got until now: there are far more books in the world than I am ever going to get to read.
Something about standing in front of an, admittedly, small section of my favorite literature and knowing that I’d never read most of what was on that shelf made me profoundly sad. It made me wish I could get back all the time I wasted that day surfing the internet and fiddling on Twitter while waiting for people to call me back for my news story. Imagine how much more I could read if I just stopped wasting time?
The thing is, even if I turned all of the time I waste in a day into reading time, I’d still have no chance of reading all the books I would love to read. I mean, there’s just no way it’s possible to keep up with the volume of writing that’s produced every day. But knowing that doesn’t make it any less sad, does it?
Photo courtesy of Wrote (via Flickr)
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{ 38 comments… read them below or add one }
Well said! I agree with you. People tell me “you read a lot”. I believe this until I’m browsing at a book store and see all the books I haven’t read! It seems as though the more I read, the more I have YET to read.
As for wasting time on the internet, I agree with you too. When I know I could be reading, do chores, or something productive, I find myself surfing the internet which can easily turn into hours! I too have thought about time-wasters that I knowingly participate in.
Good topic…
How I agree with you! This is one sad reality. But the day I realized that was also the day I decided to be less severe about “finishing every book I start”. I give each book I read a chance, but no more pressure on finishing those I don’t like, when so many I could love are waiting on the shelves!
Just looking at my TBR pile can make me sad because I know if I didn’t buy any more books for two years I could just get through it at the rate I’m reading now. And what are the chances of me not buying any more books? Zilch. There are too many books and not enough hours, that much I know is true!
I remember the day I visited the big university library to do research for a high school paper. It was on Kafka. The librarian I consulted asked if I wanted books on Kafka in English or in the original German. When she showed me the shelves the library had on Kafka, I realized I’d NEVER EVEN READ ALL THE BOOKS ON KAFKA.
It was a momentous day for me. I resolved to never waste time on a lousy book.
My doctorate supervisor once told me that the day he came to terms with his mortality was the day he realized that he owned more unread books than he had life left to read. Mind you, that didn’t stop him buying more and more to add to the pile.
Oh, how true, Kim! I feel the same way, especially when I look at my library loot, knowing that there will inevitably be some that will be returned unread because of lack of time.
And it’s the same with blogs, too. There are so many great writers and creative folks out there that I want to read them all, but it is impossible to do so.
You have touched a nerve in the book blogging community!
While it is sad to think that I will never have the opportunity to read all the books that I would like to read someday, I must admit that I will have a grand time trying to achieve that goal. I love the comment that Ann made about her doctorate professor —- we can come face-to-face with our mortality, but that does not have to prevent us from finding more books to add to the TBR mountain.
I’m constantly reminded of the books I have waiting for me when I read everyone’s reviews. My mind is all “oh, I have that” and “I forgot I want to read that” and “ooooh, pretty cover.” Then I go to the bookstore and can’t resist buying more books. And then I wonder when I’ll read everything. So yes, it’s sad…especially when I think of all the great books I’ll never even hear of, let alone get a chance to read.
Man, do I ever agree with you. There are so very many books I want to read, and I find it frustrating to think that I’ll never, ever finish them all. Even if I made up a great big reading list right now and never strayed from it, I’d still miss out on all the wonderful books that have yet to be published. Sigh. It’s impossible for a reader to get ahead.
I agree, it’s very sad. I try not to think about all the books I’ll never be able to read.
Hello there, I just wandered here randomly from the Sunday Salon website — hope you don’t mind a stranger commenting. Oh, but this is the bookworm’s eternal problem, isn’t it? I’ve problem accumulated enouh unread books to keep me going for at least another five years, and possibly another ten. Does this stop me acquiring more? You can probably guess the answer to that.
Sometimes I tell myself not to be concerned about all the books I’ll never read, because it’s impossible to keep up. Of course, it never works.
This is the thought that keeps me from being much of a collector of anything. Having stacks and stacks of unread books in the house would just be a reminder that there are more books than time. Borrowing them from the library is less overwhelming for me; it lets me pretend that any of the books left behind aren’t worthy of my time
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I agree. On the other hand, tonight I gave my Mom another book and she said “I have so many good books and not enough time to read them!” and I said “yeah, but that’s better than the other way around, right?”
I like to turn that around and think about the abundance of it all. Imagine a life where you didn’t have access to more books than you had time to read. We’re so very fortunate.
I just wanted to say that I’m looking forward to your Literary Road Trip posts. I was born in Wisconsin but left when I was 14. I spent more time in Kansas so I chose that state for my Literary Road Trip state. But Wisconsin – part of me is still there so I’m looking forward to reading who and what you discover. And, an essay sounds great to me.
I’ve often felt a similar sadness. There are so many books out there I want to read, and sometimes I despair that I will never read them all. And then I think of all the books I will probably never even know about, and I wonder what I’m missing.
Life is so full– full of places and people and books and art to experience. And that makes me as happy as it makes me sad. While I will never experience them all, I take comfort in the fact that I will never run out of new things to experience.
Oh, and here’s an award for you.
I guess another way of seeing it is to look at all the books you have read, and just savor and enjoy every delicious moment of them. Sure, there are always going to be things we didn’t do or books we never got a chance to read, but we really don’t have enough time to do it all. So just enjoy the moments you waste along with them moments you use to read books – because we’re lucky to have any time at all, right?
I know exactly how you feel! There are so many books I want to be reading right now! Oh, how I long for a maid and an errand girl.
I know there are so many good books I won’t get to! but I’ve made it my mission to try to read as many as I can before I go, like Ann’s supervisor told her. I keep buying and I keep reading!
Time wasted on the internet is going to be my downfall. I have a small apartment, so my desk with my computer is in my living room/dining room/kitchen, which means I see it all the time. For the last couple weeks I’ve been dedicating an hour of time each night to turning the computer screen off and spending time doing something else. It’s been very relaxing, but who knows if I’ll be able to keep it up.
That’s a good philosophy. I’m not great a abandoning books because I always want to give them a chance in case they get better. I should probably be more judicious.
I haven’t bothered to calculate how long it would take me to read all of my TBR books, but I’m sure it would be at least as long. How sad!
That is a wonderful story. It’s hard to admit when we’ll never know everything we want to know about a topic or author… I hate that!
I think he’s a great representation of a true book lover. I can’t imagine coming to that realization though, it’d be pretty tough.
I’ve been returning unread library books more frequently now. I never used to do that, but now when I see a book I want I immediately request it because I’ll inevitably be on a wait list. Then when it comes I seem to have more books to read than time to finish them. It’s a vicious cycle.
Not being able to read all the blogs I want to read makes me sad too.
I’ve read other posts about this, but I think this moment was the first time I really got the sense of how much there is to read.
I loved Ann’s comment too. I can only hope that there’s plenty of time to read during whatever comes next
I get sucked into clearance sections, that’s where I get most of my “oh shiny” and “pretty cover” books because then there’s the additional “it’s only $2!” that makes it impossible to resist.
Exactly — even if I could figure out all the books I wanted to read now, there’d inevitably be more great ones coming that I’d have to add and the list would get out of control in no time. Sigh.
Me too, but sometimes the library just slaps me in the face with it
I love strangers commenting, welcome! I keep adding to a TBR pile even though I’ve got enough books to keep me happy for a long time. Thankfully, my apartment is small enough that I don’t have room for too many books. Once I have a house though, I’m not sure what will keep a cap on it
Ha ha, very funny. I haven’t browsed in the library much lately, so getting caught by the shelf of my favorite genre was a surprise. I’ve been doing a lot of requests lately, which keep me out of the stacks.
You’re absolutely right. It would be terrible to run out of good things to read. So I guess I should be counting my blessings instead
You make an excellent point. It’s truly amazing the access people have to books and other writing now via the internet, public libraries, etc. It’s nice that books aren’t such rare items that we can carry them around, bang the up, borrow them to other people and still have things to read. I like thinking about it this way a lot more
Thanks! I’m not totally sure what I’m going to write about, but I’ve been working to find local authors to try. There are a ton of them to choose from. I’m also hoping to cover the WI Book Festival later this year and use posts from that for the Literary Road Trip.
Thanks for the award
That’s a nice way to look at it as well. It’s probably better to have too many things to choose from than not enough.
All the comments are much more philosophical than I was
It’s a good point though, to make sure not to rush through good literature in a quest to read more and more of it. I like that too.
What I wouldn’t give for a maid right now. My apartment is trashed!
Good for you
I think most book bloggers, and people who love to read, keep doing the same thing.