My pal Johan Norberg (Swedish author, lecturer, famous liberal -- the good kind -- but he's gone off the reservation in recent years, was shit on 'rona and the wars) posted this weird "take-down" of some online hater.
Norberg famously sits before a gigantic bookshelf whenever he's on a Zoom call or giving an online lecture/interview. Dude is both well-read and wants you to know it.
I've been to a couple of friends'/acquaintances' homes recently and it's eerie to see all the space, all the furniture, all the stuff — but no books and no bookshelves.
Fine, if Norberg is saying "hey, look at me I'm so smart" by having a bookshelf behind him every chance he gets... it's like my friends lacking one are saying "Hey, look at me I'm so stupid/unread/silly." And I kind of believe that. In my incredible n=3 research survey here, it sort of checks out... don't have major bookshelf, aren't that smart. (They're still great people, successful and wealthy etc, just _not_ particularly bright or hardworking in the cognitive department...)
Here's what Norberg told the troll (my transl):
"You only write something like this if you don't love books, where literature is reduced to decoration. But in a real home it's hard to find a wall not entirely filled with books... except, perhaps, the bathroom.""You only write something like this if you don't love books, where literature is reduced to decoration. But in a real home it's hard to find a wall not entirely filled with books... except, perhaps, the bathroom."
The first thing I inspect in someone's home is the bookshelf... I'll linger there and get a feel for what they're thinking about, what concerns them, what interests them. _Not_ having one is just odd... like a sterile room without pictures or art.
Really demoralizing.
i've read 25-50 pages of almost most of the books I own. Most of these books are "self improvement" books. I threw out the bookshef when we moved and its Been a long time since Ive finished one. Thanks for the post this reminds me that I should buy a bookshelf and actually read again
I have limited space and I acquired 10ish books over the last few months. Anyone else love smelling their books?
I don't smell my books, but back when I used to collect Magic cards, I loved the fresh card smell after just opening a pack
YEEESS!!
You may not want to hear this but after becoming a father, I have taken to decluttering my books to make more space for my children’s toys
Reasonable
how does your bookshelf look like
massive. Untidy. Crowded with good (and bad!) Bitcoin books #1416088
I used to have so many books. too many books. I was unable to walk by a bookstore without buying a book. The used/books for sale shelf at libraries was a curse. Amazon was originally a bookseller...and I bought so many weird books from Amazon (Check out Wisconsin Death Trip some time).
I spent so much time reading and longing after books I didn't have time to read. I kept stacks of books near my bed and wouldn't go anywhere without at least one book (probably two if I was going to be gone for more than a few hours).
And of course they were all in a great big beautiful bookcase. First it was a bookcase I made out of pallets and beer bottles, then in metal shelves in a garage because the house was too small, and finally in a huge bookcase I built into a stairwell which required a ladder to access.
I don't have very many books at all now. The ones I do have are kid books.
What happened??
We moved out, and rented our house. I left the books in the bookcase, thinking I'd come back for them. But then, life and stuff and we ended up selling the house. I came back for one weekend to deal with some things and had to make a decision about the books. I gave them away.
Since then, I've found it very difficult to buy a paper book. I still read a lot, but mostly on devices. I can't really bring myself to collect books again.
Such a shame! Understandable, but still a tad tragic
I am blessed to go to SDCC every year and I will say I get my fair share of advance reading copies 🤣 put that along with my hardcover physical and kindle books, maybe 100+ combined?¿ 🤭
If you have a bookshelf, you're short Bitcoin. Sell your chairs, sell your books, buy an LLM subscription and vibe-code something that saves time and stacks sats.
I usually ask an LLM to summarize a book, and then engage for hours in conversation with the LLM about the parts of the book I'm interested in. It's more efficient way to ingest data/ideas than skimming hundreds of pages for the few nuggets of wisdom you're actually interested in. But you miss out on the author's style, rambling and quirkiness which has it's own charm. Public libraries exist, borrow don't buy!
For the price of one new book, you can have an LLM design a print a wall poster with the spines of every book you care about, that way your guests still have something to look at lol.
Books offer connection that builds the deeper understanding that forms the value LLMs seek to unpack and extract.
Favouring Claude-based summaries over human connection is laughably short-sighted.
Call me a Luddite. I'll call you a robot.
Yeah, im not sure that's right. Maybe if the LLM already perfectly understands your interests and perspectives
Agree- a book is where you actively engage with the authors thoughts and thought processes in real time and directly.
It is not meant to be mediated by a word processor automaton summary... doing so strips the process of its humanity, essence and purpose.
our pal Ezra in the NYT the other day disagreed
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/03/opinion/ai-jobs-unemployment-silicon-valley.html
Yes, you can do that. LLMs have advanced a lot. They can provide you with plenty of analysis and insights regarding a book. However, if you don’t read the book yourself, you miss out on a precious opportunity humans have to to exercise your mind, to sharpen your intellect, to think independently, to develop critical thinking, and so on. These are things an LLM cannot offer you, no matter how much information or 'accurate' analysis it provides.
Anyway, I think this is such an interesting idea LOL
I gave most of my decently sized collection to various friends when I moved out of the country tho i kept a few shelves that I couldnt part with 😅
Also I always have books in bathrooms, i love reading while shitting 🤣 current place i'm staying has two bathrooms and both have multiple printed books in them that are designated pooping reading material (+ kindle)
Currently, we have between zero and one physical books as nomads and switched to ebooks.
In our new house, we'll have have a bookshelf that'll cover much of the wall behind my desk. It's a small home, so that's a convenient spot to keep the dead tree trophies.
Your post just gave me a fun idea: I should keep the section directly behind me mostly empty and put one or two cringe books there for the camera. Then see how people react on video calls.
Makes me wonder what to put there to max it out on cringe.
Epic trolling. Love it
I still read printed books. However, I don’t have a huge library. I keep the books I’ve read and truly liked. The others, the ones I didn’t enjoy or left unfinished, I’ve given away. I see no reason to keep them sitting uselessly on the shelf.
Also, in one corner of the shelf, I keep the books I plan to read in the coming days. Usually no more than 5–10 books, which I replace with new ones once I finish reading them.
As simple as that.
I agree. I once heard someone say something like this: "Tell me how much you read, and I'll tell you how much you know."
Personally, I don't have as many physical books as I'd like, but it's something I'm trying to improve on. And I'd love to have more and more books and a nice bookshelf.
My bookshelf is in my office behind my desk, so visitors won't necessarily see it. It also means I have one of those zoom backgrounds that makes me look smart, but it was completely unintentional
I don't have any anymore and I don't see myself having a wall lined with books. I understand those who do and who need them to quickly look up a reference where they have their own notes. I read and keep digital books.
I probably have less than 20 real books. After getting the e-reader it might not grow. Unless I become rich I could probably start buying hard copies of the books I like.
I mostly download books these days - saves money.
But recently paid fiat for one 'Other Rivers' by Peter Hessler, a writer I have great respect for who writes about China from a westerners perspective- he has spend considerable time there and married a Chinese woman.
It is a little odd, but enjoyable to be reading a 'real' physical book again.
Books are great but I just got lazy and frugal in terms of them and when you can download and read them digitally usually for free why not?
The ideas are the same even if the reading of an ebook is not quite as satisfying and tactile.
https://twiiit.com/johanknorberg/status/2043982824886153705