New Bookshelf, New Resolution

I recently bought a new bookshelf from Ikea called the Billy bookcase. It is white in color and has six rows, with measurements almost the same as my old brown bookshelf. However, I added an extension unit above it, making it seven rows in total, and I also installed doors to reduce dust from accumulating. Having doors will also prevent my 9-month-old daughter from pulling down the books and messing with them, while making my small corner of space look neater and more organized.

I had to replace my old bookshelf because it was slanting like the Pisa Tower and looked like it was about to topple over. This was dangerous for my two kids since they like to play in that small space. One of the shelves had also given way after my father stepped on it for support while fixing a light on the wall.

When I slowly started moving my books to the new bookshelf, I noticed that some of them were stacked horizontally above the other vertically arranged books due to limited space — there were simply too many books. About 98% of the books are mine. I started to feel a little sad because I had not finished reading them all. Some I bought and only read a few pages; others I had not read at all. Yet I kept buying more and more books. Something in me also felt irritated because it seemed like a waste of money, space, and resources.

With the new bookshelf in place, I made a resolution to myself: I am going to read all of the books, and I cannot buy more books until I complete at least one full unit of the shelf. The minimum level of reading I should do is superficial reading, as explained in the book How to Read a Book.

So I began right away, and the first book that caught my eye was Explain the Cloud Like I’m 10 by Todd Hoff. I also decided to keep track of my reading along with small notes on my site, so I created a page here called book-notes.

Of course, not every book needs to be finished. Some are references, while others may no longer feel relevant to me anymore. Still, I want to become more intentional with the books I bring into my life.