Loved this, Jordan, and after reading it on my laptop, I picked up my smartphone and opened the app so I could zoom in on the picture and then spent the last 10 minutes going through all of your books!
Creepy, I know, but I couldn't resist it! :p
Incredible library, I share some of those, but I don't even call that a bookshelf, i call it my Christmas wish list!
What a collection! I love the framework of internal vs. external rabbit holes. Learning to distinguish between your own genuine interests versus topics you've been externally conditioned into liking is a fantastic practice for original thinking and writing. When it comes to book selection, our desires are often purely memetic. Most of the books I pick up are because someone I want to be like recommended them to me.
I got into fiction over the past year after being a purely non-fiction reader my whole life. Not that you need any, but here are two recommendations for amazing (in my opinion) fiction books:
1) Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman (just finished reading this, was very sad when it ended)
2) Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa (long book but amazing, based on a real Samori - the ending is absolutely epic and there are great lessons weaved throughout the entire book)
Lastly, loved the humor weaved throughout the post. I had a good laugh picturing your face on the FedEx wall with a big red X through it. Looking forward to reading more of your essays through WoP11!
Thanks so much Jack! Man, I love the framework you just shared: "Most of the books I pick up are because someone I want to be like recommended them to me". That is an excellent way to do it. It sounds so obvious, but I'm just now getting onto that same idea: find the people you want to be like or learn from and spend time with them.
Hahaha fantastic! You're right I definitely don't need more recommendations, but I will never turn them down. Appreciate it! My fiction section is very dilapidated because I also focused on non-fiction for my whole life. I've never heard of these, will add 'em to my Fiction list!
Much appreciated! That combo of writing about something I deeply enjoy + playfully infusing my own humor made this a blast to write and it just came out of me without any effort.
Jordan, I enjoyed this! As someone who dabbles in building a library from time to time, I am always nosily interested in other's ideas on the subject. Crazy! I just bought Bach's book in September... recommended by a colleague. I will tell you though, I could not function in the color coordination - I obsess over a change in the flow of my shelves (and my closet) and would not be able to sleep at night wondering if I had them right. (colorblindness is a battle.) Love it!
Thanks James! I love, love, love the library you have behind you in our calls. Yours dwarfs mine, I'd really enjoy visiting it one day (or reading about it if you have something on it)!
I've probably read around 10% of them or so. I'm a notoriously slow reader and my eyes are bigger than my stomach most of the time lol. Honestly love curating them just as much as reading them.
Interesting thought about giving them away. I've given away probably close to 10% of them over the last few years between moves and I have another 5% or so floating around among friends that borrowed from it.
If I have an exceptional book that I want a friend to read (and keep forever) I'll buy an extra copy for them and keep the original in my library.
My long term plan is to keep these in the family for many years. I shifted to adding more hardcovers over the last two years in the hope that they would last longer. I want my children to draw inspiration and knowledge from it even more than I do.
Maybe I need to write another on why I buy, as opposed to how I buy
Loved this, Jordan, and after reading it on my laptop, I picked up my smartphone and opened the app so I could zoom in on the picture and then spent the last 10 minutes going through all of your books!
Creepy, I know, but I couldn't resist it! :p
Incredible library, I share some of those, but I don't even call that a bookshelf, i call it my Christmas wish list!
Thank you for sharing this, great work.
Hahaha fantastic, great to hear! Thanks again sparking many of the ideas for this one!
“Creepy, I know”
🤣
You’re the best, Danny! Lol
What a collection! I love the framework of internal vs. external rabbit holes. Learning to distinguish between your own genuine interests versus topics you've been externally conditioned into liking is a fantastic practice for original thinking and writing. When it comes to book selection, our desires are often purely memetic. Most of the books I pick up are because someone I want to be like recommended them to me.
I got into fiction over the past year after being a purely non-fiction reader my whole life. Not that you need any, but here are two recommendations for amazing (in my opinion) fiction books:
1) Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman (just finished reading this, was very sad when it ended)
2) Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa (long book but amazing, based on a real Samori - the ending is absolutely epic and there are great lessons weaved throughout the entire book)
Lastly, loved the humor weaved throughout the post. I had a good laugh picturing your face on the FedEx wall with a big red X through it. Looking forward to reading more of your essays through WoP11!
Thanks so much Jack! Man, I love the framework you just shared: "Most of the books I pick up are because someone I want to be like recommended them to me". That is an excellent way to do it. It sounds so obvious, but I'm just now getting onto that same idea: find the people you want to be like or learn from and spend time with them.
Hahaha fantastic! You're right I definitely don't need more recommendations, but I will never turn them down. Appreciate it! My fiction section is very dilapidated because I also focused on non-fiction for my whole life. I've never heard of these, will add 'em to my Fiction list!
Much appreciated! That combo of writing about something I deeply enjoy + playfully infusing my own humor made this a blast to write and it just came out of me without any effort.
Jordan, I enjoyed this! As someone who dabbles in building a library from time to time, I am always nosily interested in other's ideas on the subject. Crazy! I just bought Bach's book in September... recommended by a colleague. I will tell you though, I could not function in the color coordination - I obsess over a change in the flow of my shelves (and my closet) and would not be able to sleep at night wondering if I had them right. (colorblindness is a battle.) Love it!
Thanks James! I love, love, love the library you have behind you in our calls. Yours dwarfs mine, I'd really enjoy visiting it one day (or reading about it if you have something on it)!
Hey Jordan, curious... what % of your 'library' have you read?
And, do you have a process for giving books away (or not giving them away)?
Hey Jordan, good question.
I've probably read around 10% of them or so. I'm a notoriously slow reader and my eyes are bigger than my stomach most of the time lol. Honestly love curating them just as much as reading them.
Interesting thought about giving them away. I've given away probably close to 10% of them over the last few years between moves and I have another 5% or so floating around among friends that borrowed from it.
If I have an exceptional book that I want a friend to read (and keep forever) I'll buy an extra copy for them and keep the original in my library.
My long term plan is to keep these in the family for many years. I shifted to adding more hardcovers over the last two years in the hope that they would last longer. I want my children to draw inspiration and knowledge from it even more than I do.
Maybe I need to write another on why I buy, as opposed to how I buy
lol, I'm at about the same - 10% of my shelf - and a slow reader, too
That’s one beautifully filled bookcase, Jordan! Love the walkthrough of your process to welcome each book into the collection.
Thanks Alexandra!