the books on your bookshelf
is it possible to learn from the books you aren't actively reading?
I'm the type of person that will purchase a book as soon as I feel like reading it. if I see a recommendation from someone I respect, or I just want to read the book eventually, I'll purchase it right away.
this led to me having a stockpile of books in my room. I've filled my bookshelf and I've started to scatter my desk with them. given this, I don't interact with a lot of my books on my bookshelf on a day to day basis - which, to me, used to mean that I wasn't actively learning from these books.
but my mind has changed about this recently. I learn from the books on my bookshelf every single day - from the ones I'm actively reading, to the ones that I have yet to open. I think there are a few reasons for this.
visual cue's for recalling information
recently, I've been leaving a lot of my technical books right on my desk and off my bookshelf. I've essentially cached these for quick use, for ex. I'm able to recall principles of Designing Data Intensive Applications while I'm designing a data intensive application. the visual cue is important, because the more that I think about it, the more that I realize I haven't even thought of some books that are on my kindle for months. they are just out of sight, and out of mind.
inspiration & the aura of the greats
maybe this one is specific to Poor Charlie's Almanack - but I have my copy sitting directly in front of me with Munger's face staring into my soul as I work or write. it feels as if I am being watched by the greats, and it makes me just a little more aware of what I'm doing and why I'm doing it.
as I run into an issue with one of my software systems, I might glance down at my desk and ask - "what would Kleppman do?" or if I'm having trouble trying to understand the fundamentals of a subject - "how would Feynman learn this?" and all of a sudden, I can think through a problem much more clearly.
memories & feelings
each book has an array of your memories associated with it; the person that told you about the book and how they spoke of it, the type of person you were when you first bought the book, how it made you feel, how the book changed you, the list goes on. when they aren't in sight for long periods of time, you'll likely forget these things.
I'm still exploring this idea, and it's mostly just some rough-around-the-edges thoughts right now. but I definitely don't feel as bad for buying a bunch of physical books.