Is Marie Kondo Wrong About Books?
Marie Kondo’s attitude towards books has generated strong backlash thanks to her new show on Netflix . In her book , The Life-Changing Magic of Cleaning Up, she encourages readers to get rid of all unread books. She says that she personally owns only 30 items. Its critics say this is funny, and in fact you should cover your house with books.
But in opposing Kondo, her critics end up making her case: One writer says, “My friends often stumble over my novels when they come … I recently moved a pile next to my bed to be used as an extra bedside table. “. This is an article designed to make book accumulation look good . The writer Anakana Schofield says that “everyone needs an extensive library.” No, everyone needs vitamin D. While a large library can be very enjoyable, don’t let it be intimidating. It’s as bad as being forced to get rid of it.
On her show, Kondo doesn’t always follow her 30-book rule. Here’s a shot from Episode 6, taken after the couple finished blowing their books:
There are not that many books, but there are far more than 30 of them, and this does not even include children’s books. So in practice, Kondo leaves a lot of wiggle room.
This is great because her rules are wrong. In her book, she argues that “in [books] there is no point in just standing on your shelves.” She’s wrong. The books you read convey meaning to you; the books you hold convey meaning to others. The best reason to keep books in your home is to show them to other people.
It sounds in vain. That’s not a lot. But think about clothes. Aside from a few basics, we choose most of our clothing based on what we signal to others, rather than our physical needs. That’s why we dress to look professional, or with the logo of our favorite band, or to show that we “don’t care how we look.” It is important for us what other people think, usually within reasonable limits.
Like clothes, your personal library is a collection of choices you make, and people may well make assumptions about you based on those choices. They will think that you are interested in the books you have, whether you have read them or not. They will also think that you have read some of these books. If they spot Mein Kampf on your shelf, they might want to know if you have a really good reason. And if you have very few books, people will at least subconsciously assume that you don’t read much – unless you give them a reason to think otherwise.
If you really don’t care what people think, go ahead and get rid of all the books you need. Or keep three shelves of self-help books and movie novels, as well as any books that college gave you.
But if you do n’t care, that’s okay too! Don’t keep books that you don’t intend to read, or books that you really hate or don’t want to talk about. But hold on to the ones you like or hope to read. Get used copies of books you liked years ago. Books are the subject of conversation.
The right amount of books to have is whatever is comfortable for you, whatever projects the image you want to project and whatever fills the space you allotted. If someone tells you otherwise, they are selling something.