There is something special about books.

Even granting the fact that Kindles and other e-reader devices are more practical, easier to bring with you, more efficient, and good overall, most people who love reading also really enjoy owning the physical books. Many people who use e-readers tend to also purchase the physical book just so they have it.

Another common habit of readers is to always be buying books, even when they have dozens, or hundreds, sitting on a shelf at home waiting for attention.

Many people find this fact depressing since for most people, it will be impossible to find the time to read all the books that they are interested in during their brief lifetime.

The fact is, however, that it may actually be a good thing to have shelves of books that you will never find the time to read.

A growing number of experts and thinkers are suggesting that having these unread books represents a tangible way to quantify the massive amount of things that a person does not know. This is important because many of us are almost prideful about knowledge, despite the fact that even the smartest among us only know the tiniest of fractions of all that there is to know.

So, having this library of unknown knowledge can be, in a way, humbling.

This concept has gained so much traction that it is getting a number of names.

Statistician Nassim Nicholas Taleb has dubbed his collection of unread books his, “anti-library.”

Another option, which many may prefer, comes from Japanese. The term Tsundoku comes from the word tsunde-oku, which means letting things pile up, and the word dokusho, meaning reading books.

This certainly has a nice ring to it.

Whatever you call it, make sure that you take pride in your growing library, even if you know that you’ll never end up reading every title that you already own. Also, make sure you purchase that next volume that you’ve been considering. You’ll be glad you did, even if you never read it.

Maybe my book collection really is good for me.

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