Why don’t we read the books we want to read?

Lack of time and hours spent scrolling aimlessly are the usual suspects why we never get around to reading the books we want to read. But even after accounting for these factors, it seems odd that we dance the procrastination polka with an activity we anticipate being enjoyable and engaging. (Photo by Lina Kivaka via Pexels)

By now, most New Year resolutions must have been consigned to the graveyard of dashed hopes, including admirable goals such as gaining abs of steel and eating more fibre. Often, among these crushed dreams is the ambition to read more, whether a specific number of books every month or pages every day. Unless these objectives are exceptionally modest, they, too, tend to fall by the wayside.

Also read: Why readers leave books unfinished

Many have emphasised that the key to reading more is not treating it as a chore but as a pleasurable activity. Choosing books aligned with your interests often leads to achieving reading goals. Yet, the to-be-read pile grows and grows, evoking groans and sparking posts on social media about the impossibility of getting through it all.

Why do we struggle to read the books we genuinely want to read, particularly those awaiting us in the to-be-read pile? The usual suspects are a lack of time and hours spent scrolling aimlessly. Even after accounting for these factors, it seems odd that we dance the procrastination polka with an activity we anticipate being enjoyable and engaging.

(Photo by Ron Lach via Pexels)

First off, carving out dedicated time for reading can feel like a luxury we can ill-afford. The value of reading is undeniable, but the commitment creates a mental obstacle – a hurdle that becomes higher when the books are behemoths such as Moby Dick or War and Peace.

Fear of disappointment is another factor. You pick up a book expecting entertainment and knowledge but are waylaid by thoughts that it may not meet expectations or that you might struggle to understand it – even before you reach the end of the first page. Such anxieties lead to avoidance, even if the book is one you’ve specifically identified as a worthwhile read.

Also read: How Gen Z is saving print books

At other times, a just-released book receives substantial attention in the form of gushing reviews, endorsements, awards and more. The temptation to acquire it becomes irresistible. Yet, once the hype dies down, that “must-read” volume remains unread, replaced by next month’s flavour. Every book review, every social media post featuring someone clutching the latest bestseller, pierces your heart with the dagger of FOMO. And so the pile grows taller, a monument to social anxiety and questionable reading habits.

As someone wisely said, buying books and reading them are two different activities. Instead of delving into the books, you find yourself rearranging, dusting, categorising, and re-categorising the pile while avoiding the content itself.

Meanwhile, no matter how many unread books lurk in the corners, there’s always a fresh one with a crisp cover and new-book fragrance that calls to your acquisitive soul. The song of the bibliophilic Sirens is irresistible, promising untold literary adventures which you’ll get to…eventually.

You buy books based on a future version of yourself, a reader who will effortlessly devour novels like potato chips. One day, you think, you will have world enough and time to lounge on an obliging hammock absorbing 500 pages an hour, even though at present you struggle to make it through 50 pages before nodding off.

In times of despair, it’s worth recalling the words of Nassim Nicholas Taleb from an essay on arch bibliophile Umberto Eco. Read books are far less valuable than unread ones, Taleb writes. Your library should contain “as much of what you do not know as your financial means, mortgage rates, and the currently tight real-estate market allow you to put there”. That’s reassuring, even if it does nothing for your depleted bank balance.

Taleb continues by labelling a collection of unread books an “antilibrary”. He argues that the more you know, the greater the number of unread books on your shelves. “You will accumulate more knowledge and more books as you grow older, and the growing number of unread books on the shelves will look at you menacingly.” For those like Eco, then, a private library isn’t an ego-boosting accessory but a valuable research tool.

The rest of us can take heart by thinking of the to-be-read pile not as an Everest to be surmounted but an Aladdin’s cave to be explored. Treasures await, even though we know that, like the universe, the number of unread books will keep expanding.

Also read: Bookshelves and their discontents: Perils and pitfalls of storing books at home