As a child, I consumed books endlessly. I logged thousands of minutes in reading logs and proudly turned them into my teachers. My family didn’t own most of these books. Instead, our weekly trips to the local library allowed me to explore new worlds, at no cost.
In “The Great Gatsby,” there’s one scene where the narrator is wandering Gatsby’s house during a party. He comes across an owl-eyed man pulling book after book off of Gatsby’s shelf, revealing that none of the pages have been cut.
The full library is just for show. Gatsby hasn’t read any of the books.
This can be compared to the modern social media personalities who show themselves hauling hundreds of dollars worth of books. TikTokkers and YouTubers will often post their “bookhauls,” including dozens of books they’ve recently bought.
While these hauls offer benefits, such as promoting smaller authors and publishing houses, they focus on the aesthetic of being perceived as a reader rather than focusing on the love of the hobby.
I can appreciate the joy in getting a brand-new book, but bookhauls encourage overconsumption. Buying all your books at once isn’t sustainable or smart.
Take a look at YouTubers who post clickbait-esque videos of them getting rid of dozens of books they haven’t read, or “unhauls.” Their channels also have multiple videos of them hauling books.
The easiest way to combat this overconsumption is to stop buying books and start checking them out from the library. There’s truly no downside. Borrowing books from libraries supports authors and saves you money.
Publishers count on libraries buying copies of books. If a library sees a certain book is in demand, they’ll stock more copies, pre-order the author’s upcoming books and put their books on display, thereby directly supporting the author.
Libraries are also beneficial for readers. Borrowing from them allows you to read without committing to a book you might not even like. Spending $20 on something just to never touch it is essentially throwing money away.
What’s beautiful about libraries is that if you don’t like the book, you can just return in. No money wasted, no joy sucked out of reading because you’re forcing yourself to finish something just because you spent a small fortune on it.
In Boston, we’re lucky to have 26 public library locations. Besides books, the library also offers free events to learn or improve various skills, museum passes, access to the Boston Globe and strong programming aimed to support Boston teens.
At Simmons, our library boasts a spread of study spaces and a wide range of book genres, so students can also check out books for pleasure much closer to home.
When you support the library, you support all of this.
