Matching your books

    "When you've finished tidying your books, step back and take a good look at your bookshelves. What kind of words leap out at you from the titles on their spines? [...]

    The energy of book titles and the words inside them are very powerful. In Japan we say that 'words make our reality'. The words we see and with which we come into contact tend to bring about events of the same nature. In that sense, you will become the person who matches the books you have kept. What kind of books would you want in your bookcase to reflect the kind of person you aspire to be? If you choose which books to keep on that basis, you may find that the course of events in your life changes dramatically."

    Food for thought there from Marie Kondo's Spark Joy.

Comments

[Gwendoline]

On first read this seems back-to-front to me. Am I missing something? Surely we accrete the books that resonate with who we have been and who we are? Just acquiring books based on what we think we 'lack' is an unhappy thing? I must be missing something mustn't I?

[Cornflower]

Gwendoline, I think you're right about acquiring books which resonate with us. I suppose Marie Kondo is here giving guidance for when we assess our collection: does a book still reflect who we are or what kind of life we would like? For example, if someone is consciously trying to experience and appreciate more joy, then having books with 'dark', potentially disturbing themes/titles would not reflect that.

[Dark Puss]

I am sorry but this sounds like complete nonsense to me! The only books on my shelves that have any "aspirational" aspects are technical ones. I aspired to be an experimental physicist and thus, surprise, surprise, I have quite a number of books with the work physics (or one of its sub-genres) written on the spine. If I hadn't kept them then I wouldn't be in the profession I currently am.

[Cornflower]

DP, I'm not surprised you don't agree with Marie Kondo!
To try to clarify: she says, for example, that a person might have books which reflect their single status - 'Cooking for One', say. Should they then decide they'd rather be part of a couple, by her way of thinking that book should go.
I will admit that there is a lot about her wider philosophy which appeals to me!