Do you like books? - by Nathan N
The Neverending Testament
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Do you like books?
Do you really like books?
Feb 25, 2026
I like books. I have a humble horde of books to call my own. I don’t know how many. I think I could get rid of many, but could also have many more. I’ve often thought that a working scholar with many digital resources would do well to amass a curated and broad home library of ~1,000-1,500 books, and would not need more than that, since most people who have libraries this large can probably offload ~10% to needy others at any time with no loss.
On the other hand, I think anyone would do well to set a goal of building a home library of around 100 great books.
But why?
It’s a way to take up arms against a tsunami of digital troubles that threatens to erase physical space, and with it, a depth of insight that cannot otherwise be had.
If the book were invented after the internet it would be seen as a superior new technology for engaging information, since it is all accessible at once, set on a spine that can be rapidly hand manipulated, books don’t run out of battery, require zero energy to operate, etc.
People who think that digital documents are more efficient are only right if they qualify that efficiency. Working intimately with the right kind of physical books (and in physical libraries) builds a set of skills and offers occasions of serendipity that is lost when only working with digital documents. Digital documents lend themselves to skimming and using the search function instead of combing through indexes which are themselves human-selected collections of ideas that also aid breadth of understanding. Working with books forces you to read more, think more, explore more, and even struggle more for understanding. The “end result” might be a similar piece of knowledge or writing produced on the other side, but those who still steep themselves in books will be better people.
I would also point to the studies on the positive effects that books have on kids, even just having books around. This probably has more to do with the parents being the kind of people to buy and collect books, since most of those people value education and so do so for their kids, but still.
Most importantly, gathering books is a good thing if the books are good, and reading good books is a good end in itself. It is also a practice in humility as well as wonder to continue acquiring many more books than you have read, because to do so is to remind yourself that there is so much more to know, and to afford yourself the opportunity to browse your own shelves and discover, and rediscover. This essay on Umberto Eco’s “Anti-library” is good.
I like to think of the shelves like an Agora in my house. I don’t want it to be bursting with any and everything that fits between two covers, or with unsavoury types, or overpopulated. But I do want to to be something like that picturesque cosmopolitan image we see the Holy City intended to be in scripture, a complete unity and full. So, I want my “Agora” to be full of the great voices of the past, and lesser voices of my own interest. I have invited them all into my home, and I and my family can interact with them. Right now, my Agora is an interesting place. It represents a fairly narrow academic focus over about a decade, and so is lacking in various areas, and over-crowded in others. I have plans for development and change, but that will take some years yet.
Finally, when I think of my children’s experiences living in a house with books, I think of the wonders of creating for them the kind of experience C. S. Lewis reminisces about:
I am a product of . . . endless books. My father bought all the books he read and never got rid of any of them. There were books in the study, books in the drawing room, books in the cloakroom, books (two deep) in the great bookcase on the landing, books in a bedroom, books piled as high as my shoulder in the cistern attic, books of all kinds reflecting every transient stage of my parents’ interest, books readable and unreadable, books suitable for a child and books most emphatically not. Nothing was forbidden me. In the seemingly endless rainy afternoons I took volume after volume from the shelves. I had always the same certainty of finding a book that was new to me as a man who walks into a field has of finding a new blade of grass. Surprised by Joy
Interview with a Bibliophile
Now, I ask if you like books, because I met a fellow who really likes books. I mean really, really likes books.
Certainly a bibliophile.
His name is Timothy Kenny and he’s recorded some 60 hours of “bookshelf tours” on his YouTube channel, here. He’s a charming guy who clearly loves books, and bookshelves (he was quite excited that I have a library cart), and education. He’s doing his thing, and posting 9+ hour videos of people’s bookshelves. Kudos to him.
Earlier this year, Timothy and I connected over my search for some books, and that dialogue eventuated in a 3.5 hour interview (in two sessions), where I “tour” my book shelves. That interview is here. It’s really nothing special, but if you like books, you might like to skim through it and see the shelves. Some of his other videos will repay viewing more than mine, and if you think our interview is long, I think he’s done more than 20 hours with some people! I have thoroughly enjoyed skimming Timothy’s other videos (especially his tour of Harvard University Press), to see the wonderful shelves of others and to encounter interesting books I did not know about.
So, this is a fun little post for those who like books and will like to peruse through Timothy’s passion-driven channel.
Some other pics for added ambience
Below are some other pics of some books that I took last year or earlier.