Post ARySOwfs6MVYuSTb2O by clive@saturation.social
(DIR) More posts by clive@saturation.social
(DIR) Post #ARyMrnBnqWDuAJmfxY by clive@saturation.social
2023-01-24T15:45:39Z
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Do you own far more books than you'll ever read?<raises hand>Here's a useful way to think about it: All those books are what Nassim Nicholas Taleb calls an "antilibrary"They are the whitespace around your knowledgeThey keep you humble -- sure, you know stuff, but behold all the things you *don't* know!Or, as I put it ... they're a form of "intellectual orienteering"My essay: https://clivethompson.medium.com/the-value-of-owning-more-books-than-youll-ever-read-3d60a6046994A "friend" link if you're not a Medium subscriber: https://clivethompson.medium.com/the-value-of-owning-more-books-than-youll-ever-read-3d60a6046994?sk=d9575f6411ee9d9a756e2b59ab1e9b2e
(DIR) Post #ARyNqSoUDat2dPoAue by mariyadelano@mastodon.social
2023-01-24T15:51:34Z
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@clive careful, Clive, you're providing me with ammunition against my husband. He constantly complains about me hoarding books that I don't read.
(DIR) Post #ARyOFG4EkDkCLLzxLs by mckra1g@mastodon.social
2023-01-24T15:54:39Z
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@clive I have three bookshelves and various book-stalagmites scattered all over my apartment. At present, I'm reading four different books — each activates a different segment/portion of my brain.
(DIR) Post #ARyOFGaqmxpdyVG0Bc by clive@saturation.social
2023-01-24T15:57:03Z
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@mckra1g I refer to them as "ziggurats" of books, but I think I prefer stalagmites!
(DIR) Post #ARyOfBBDXRBAiMciq8 by dbsalk@mastodon.social
2023-01-24T15:58:59Z
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@clive I've read most of the #books I actually own, but I also make good use of my local #library. However, I have more than 650 books on my TBR list. Given the pace that I read at, I'm reasonably confident that I won't complete that list in this lifetime... especially since I keep adding to it. 🙄
(DIR) Post #ARyOkm1zxAzCSFyl96 by lari@suomi.social
2023-01-24T15:59:38Z
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@clive I love this concept, thank you! Now I only need to find a way to convince my wife of this thing too. 😬
(DIR) Post #ARyOuIUmcaZxkNz4vQ by clive@saturation.social
2023-01-24T15:56:18Z
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@mariyadelano I exist to serve
(DIR) Post #ARyOynNJknNsg1dYWW by igisho@rockosbasilisk.com
2023-01-24T15:58:37Z
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@clive in this analogy your bookshelf of unread books should grow exponentially to your knowledge since our universe is designed in a way that “knowing more = knowing less”
(DIR) Post #ARyPL1W9qvEsuUN4cK by clive@saturation.social
2023-01-24T16:09:25Z
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@igisho That is an excellent extension of my argument and I cosign
(DIR) Post #ARyPQuMtLZhgTRqKLg by clive@saturation.social
2023-01-24T16:10:13Z
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@dbsalk I use my library a lot -- you're reminding me that I have two overdue books I gotta return!650 books is a big TBR list!
(DIR) Post #ARyPipUQDwrcYWuWpc by DavidDmshepherd@toot.community
2023-01-24T16:12:14Z
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@clive I now own fewer #books than I’ve read after a down-sizing cull. I had read all but a few of them.
(DIR) Post #ARyPjig12XoliPl42S by clive@saturation.social
2023-01-24T16:10:32Z
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@lari Heh heh it can be tricky
(DIR) Post #ARyPpUAVtTKuSNlxdg by clive@saturation.social
2023-01-24T16:16:37Z
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@DavidDmshepherd I do regular culls too, alasMy house is jammed full, so if 30 new ones come in, eventually 30 have to leave
(DIR) Post #ARyQT9fjWCP6TII7CC by DavidDmshepherd@toot.community
2023-01-24T16:24:53Z
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@clive kept all the books I’d ever owned from childhood in my large study. Most had to go as they wouldn’t fit into the small flat we have retired too. I kept a representative sample of my favourites which remind me of the others. A one in one out policy makes sense. I’ve also started borrowing from the local #library again.
(DIR) Post #ARyQiYOjs1FpV8gWnI by kkcthornton@mastodon.scot
2023-01-24T16:28:35Z
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@clive They are protection against someday not having anything to read or wanting something different to read.
(DIR) Post #ARyRHE4tPas6cBw2M4 by Judeet88@home.social
2023-01-24T16:26:22Z
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@clive @DavidDmshepherd Each book I have to give away to charity shops or elsewhere is like a little death inside me, a little grieving process, a real sense of loss.
(DIR) Post #ARyRHEXxfW7k4LXFfE by clive@saturation.social
2023-01-24T16:29:58Z
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@Judeet88 @DavidDmshepherd Yeah, same here
(DIR) Post #ARyRNIHeggUdOenXRw by clive@saturation.social
2023-01-24T16:30:28Z
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@DavidDmshepherd I have a great local library, and it's wonderful for exploring!
(DIR) Post #ARyRUZ6aXmcJaw5ZJY by TheMunnDame@toot.community
2023-01-24T16:30:33Z
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@clive 🥰
(DIR) Post #ARyS6f0v1ZXavLbOPA by DavidDmshepherd@toot.community
2023-01-24T16:29:28Z
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@Judeet88 @clive That’s what I found too, although getting rid of so many at once helped me to move forward in life. A literal and psychological weight was lifted. I still miss them though.
(DIR) Post #ARyS6fWT8GmIVCMaa8 by Judeet88@home.social
2023-01-24T16:32:46Z
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@DavidDmshepherd @clive I've been taking photos of mine...how sad is that?!
(DIR) Post #ARyS6g3n8NQuAXxCWO by clive@saturation.social
2023-01-24T16:34:32Z
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@Judeet88 @DavidDmshepherd A bit beautiful, too, though!
(DIR) Post #ARySOwfs6MVYuSTb2O by clive@saturation.social
2023-01-24T16:36:11Z
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@kkcthornton Yes, preciselyI can always find something new to distract myself with
(DIR) Post #ARyShKMSlyLpaOAC3c by clive@saturation.social
2023-01-24T16:34:10Z
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@TheMunnDame 🤘 🤖
(DIR) Post #ARyb2Jqsf30vijua2a by CurlyCait@mstdn.social
2023-01-24T18:26:11Z
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@clive absolutely love this 😁♥️ tsundoku . I am mainly fiction , otherwise , very similiar
(DIR) Post #ARydhGPsXT7SqYvvJg by clive@saturation.social
2023-01-24T18:54:04Z
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@CurlyCait Yeah, a lot of us have it bad!
(DIR) Post #ARyr3tXL4ODFx2Xo5A by Keepapitchinin@historians.social
2023-01-24T21:25:46Z
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@clive Thanks. I need all the rationali-- er, justification I can get.(Really, it was lovely)
(DIR) Post #ARysZuUNAIKW7ozFE8 by dbsalk@mastodon.social
2023-01-24T21:42:48Z
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@clive I know. I wish it was more manageable. I am frequently faced with this dilemma: do I re-read something wonderful or do I try something new that I might also love?
(DIR) Post #ARywhGXzwyKMNkRguW by clive@saturation.social
2023-01-24T22:26:37Z
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@Keepapitchinin lol happy to help out
(DIR) Post #ARywuMfAWWXV782soy by clive@saturation.social
2023-01-24T22:28:46Z
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@dbsalk To make matters worse -- or better? -- I use Scribd a lot; it doesn't have "big" bestseller books, but it has a *ton* of the niche academic-y nonfiction I love to read ... so I'll hear about a scholarly book in a newspaper article, then instantly dial it up on Scribd and read a chapter or so
(DIR) Post #ARzCAazqUxODVwulvs by Minnesnowta@universeodon.com
2023-01-25T01:21:55Z
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@clive I bought two bookshelves over the holidays. The other night, I ordered 3 different magazine subscriptions to help fill them up.
(DIR) Post #ARzCIsHe6pRZRiBjOq by clive@saturation.social
2023-01-25T01:23:46Z
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@Minnesnowta Nicely done!
(DIR) Post #AS1H5cgVgNkxOBEqsS by irwin@saturation.social
2023-01-26T01:26:53Z
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@clive We have kind of a ban on buying new books in my house now. I had an idea of rearranging all of our books as if it were a bookstore — ie, by sections (cooking, graphic novels, fiction, non-fiction, children’s) and then alphabetical within those sections. That way it would simulate the experience of being in a bookstore and make me realize, Oh! I don’t need to buy that book! I already have it! Maybe I should read it now! I’ve also started borrowing from the library regularly now.
(DIR) Post #AS1JpkSjIUAcjxumpM by BobHartman@federated.press
2023-01-26T01:57:18Z
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@clive Yes I do, many I have read. I asked about donating appropriate books to our county jail. However, I was told, books I bought from Amazon.com would be accepted, but books I already own would be discarded.
(DIR) Post #AS1UcOd4GCrykzaPTc by riedlr@universeodon.com
2023-01-26T03:58:36Z
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@clive like Tsundoku? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsundoku
(DIR) Post #AS1UicfYyKDi2ViqxM by clive@saturation.social
2023-01-26T03:59:16Z
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@riedlr yep!!
(DIR) Post #AS2FHrKl2OapXzjNho by the_Cornflower@mstdn.ca
2023-01-26T12:41:29Z
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@clive I think of it as making sure you have enough staff to cover the holidays, sick or vacation days. You can't learn effectively if you limit your choices.
(DIR) Post #AS2FmNhBHYisbQm0Ke by CTHW@mstdn.ca
2023-01-26T12:47:02Z
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@clive This is the first essay I've ever read that requires not reading books to prepare …Irony, thy name is Clive Thompson
(DIR) Post #AS2lPaPP2t7huAdFjs by clive@saturation.social
2023-01-26T18:38:21Z
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@CTHW lol yes
(DIR) Post #AS2lay11cH7GJ0ekl6 by clive@saturation.social
2023-01-26T18:38:32Z
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@the_Cornflower Yes, precisely!