Thousands of unread books

Zaid's finest moment, however, comes in his second paragraph, when he says that "the truly cultured are capable of owning thousands of unread books without losing their composure or their desire for more."

Nick Hornby, The Polysyllabic Spree

Gabriel Zaid

Nick Hornby quotes Gabriel Zaid from his book So Many Books, the title of which describes a condition of he, Hornby and countless others of us share. Let us break down that quote phrase by phrase:

the truly cultured -- I like that because it is so flattering. It may also be true. Many other people consider themselves cultured, but are they, really? Not all culture is absorbed through reading, but much of it is.The truly cultured are, by Zaid’s definition, those who own more books than they can ever possibly read, however long their lifetimes. It sort of comes with the territory. Reading books makes us cultured, but simply owning books, lots of books, with hopes and dreams of getting around to reading them someday, helps, too. Those unread books demonstrate an unquenchable thirst for knowledge, as well as an unquenchable thirst for life.

capable of owning thousands of unread books -- That capability suggests both financial and physical resources, as well as a particular state of mind.   Not everyone would want thousands of books in their home. Once a book is read, they get rid of it. Once they realize they will probably never get around to reading a book, they get rid of it. They like their shelves free for knickknacks and pictures of grandchildren, and I have plenty of both but thousands of books, both read and unread, besides.

without losing their composure -- So what might Zaid mean by that? To me it suggests remaining composed enough to keep those books, even when one realizes they may never be read, even when one's spouse campaigns incessantly for downsizing, even when, as in my house, shelf space was filled to capacity years ago and books are being kept in boxes and in stacks.

or their desire for more -- Here lies the key. Some passions may decrease with age, but the desire for more books does not, at least not in my case. Just the opposite, in fact. I may be acquiring books at a faster rate than ever before. If I cannot read them, I at least can own them.

Our books, Hornby writes later in the same essay, "are the fullest expression of self we have at our disposal." This means not just the kinds of books we own but also their quality, their signs of wear, their organization or lack of same, their display, their usage and, of course, their number.