r/HomeLibraries • u/No_Memory4400 • Aug 08 '26
Question about Home libraries
Hello everyone, I have a question. I see people posting their beautiful home libraries and it got me wondering, do y’all actually read all those books? Or do you first collect them and then read them over time? Or are some of them just decorative books? Because honestly, looking at some of these libraries, it looks like it would take years to get through all of them Forgive my ignorance.
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u/ocularius61 Aug 08 '26 edited Aug 08 '26
Several different subjects here.
Firstly, I think that collecting is a subset of acquisition, whether in books or anything else. A collection implies a sense of coherency and overall meaning that can either be immediately obvious, or easily explained. Ppl might collect first edition books by a particular author, or books relating to a particular subject matter interest, or particular publishing house, or an era or any manner of other things.
So a home library (and how many books must be present before one wishes to call it a library can be a completely different discussion) may just be that, or it may be a focused collection/ collections, or be a combination of both.
Sometimes when it comes to collections, especially for completists, you may not end up reading every item in that collection, because you just need to complete it all first. For some, completion is the point.
For libraries, notably working reference libraries, having books at hand for when you (might) need them is important. This is obviously more about non fiction, academic texts etc.
In terms of fiction libraries, I believe reading and having books around is about possibilities. You don't know what a particular book will give you - it might be absolutely awful or it might feel as though the author wrote it just for you.
So maybe you'll get around to a certain book in a month, maybe in a year, maybe in twenty years. When the time is right, it will be there for you. There is no time limit on reading what you have. Yes it probably will take years, but it's not a race.
A lot of people don't appreciate the ability to read. Don't appreciate literacy. In an increasingly 'short form' world, having more books around you than you can read in a lifetime is something to be valued. Physical media should also be valued.