If you're a book lover，you have a pile of books on your bedside，or a bookshelf in your library with a“to read”sign on it．Yet you can't stop yourself from adding to the pile．This can lead to feelings of guilt over your new purchases．But I'm here to tell you to stop worrying．
What you have is anantilibrary， and it's a very good thing．The term comes from writer Umberto Eco．He is the owner of a large personal library．He separates visitors into two groups：those who react with“Wow! What a library you have! How many of these books have you read?”and the others who get the point that a private library is not something to show off but a research tool．Read books are far less valuable than unread ones．Indeed，the more you know，the larger the rows of unread books．Let us call this collection an antilibrary．
If you think you already know everything about a subject，you're cutting yourself off from a stream of information at an artificial point．So a growing library of books you haven't read means you're consistently curious about the unknown．And that attitude is a great foundation for a lifelong love of 1earning．
So don't feel guilt over your unread books．Those books will be there for you when you do want them，and as you build your library of read and unread books，you can start using it as you would use a bigger library．Certain books may become references more than read-throughs．Or you may find that a book you bought five years ago has special relevance today．Letting the role of books evolve in your life is a healthy sign of curiosity．That's good for you and good for the world around you．
