I have an Umberto Eco anti-library.
That is, I keep buying books that I deeply feel that I must own, but which I do not necessarily have the intention of completing in this lifetime. Tsundoku (積ん読) is the Japanese word for the phenomenon of letting material pile on without ever reading it. I live with this feeling and now embrace it.
I often start books and do not always finish them - this is my uber non-power, and I am working on removing the guilt from not finishing things that I started to read. Also kinda grateful for public libraries for meeting my niche reading needs.
My bookshelf over the years
Another advantage of the modern age is that you can actually view and keep track of other people’s bookshelves. Some of the most successful people I know are some of the most voracious readers:
- Stripe Press
- Derek Sivers
- Patrick Collison - man reads a book a week
- Nathan Lambert
- Tyler Cowen’s recs (2025) - generally a big fan of Marginal Revolution and Tyler’s work in expanding the surface area of knowledge.
I would keep updating this over time as I source more bookshelves of my favourite thinkers.