The having....

“The buying of more books than one can read is nothing less than the soul reaching toward infinity...”

A. Edward Newton

Does that apply if they're on kindle (or another digital reader)? I kind of get that sense of infinity from actual books. but with a kindle, is it more just forgetfulness?

MattScho said:

Does that apply if they're on kindle (or another digital reader)? I kind of get that sense of infinity from actual books. but with a kindle, is it more just forgetfulness?

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Not really. I track them in my PM app when they are in Kindle. The tons I drag home from neighborhood Little Free Libraries stack up in my dining room.

Peyton Stafford said:

Not really. I track them in my PM app when they are in Kindle. The tons I drag home from neighborhood Little Free Libraries stack up in my dining room.

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Exactly. Thousands of digital books physically looks exactly like 1, the kindle doesn’t bulge as it fills. Lots
Of thumbnails on an app are still on an app. Meanwhile, physical books line our walls, pile up on tables and floors.
I move, a lot, so I’m down to a very small physical book collection. Moving the old collection was impossible, Or at least really expensive. Kindle is convenient. Real books overwhelm.

MattScho said:

Exactly. Thousands of digital books physically looks exactly like 1, the kindle doesn’t bulge as it fills. Lots
Of thumbnails on an app are still on an app. Meanwhile, physical books line our walls, pile up on tables and floors.
I move, a lot, so I’m down to a very small physical book collection. Moving the old collection was impossible, Or at least really expensive. Kindle is convenient. Real books overwhelm.

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Next to last time I moved from a house, a cottage really, into a bachelor apartment, I gave away or sold 5,000 books. Powell's bought a lot of them, but not all. Then last time I moved, from the apartment into a three-bedroom house, the printed books flocked to my home, where they knew they would be safe. I think we need to look beyond our mortal relationships with books to the deeper soul of books and soul of us, a la Fahrenheit 451. Books are not just ink on paper. They are our brothers and sisters, their lives demarcated by aging paper and board, ours by aging flesh and bone. They need our love and the shelter we can provide, just as we need the love and shelter they provide.