What do you think of when you think of the word “materialistic” or “materialism?”
When I think of this word, I think of typically expensive things, such as jewelry, and designer clothes and shoes. Things that are pretty but not what you might call “useful.” At least, I don’t. Then again, depending on who you ask, (like my dad) the same could be said for books.
Personally, all my extra funds are spent on books. Since discovering PangoBooks, the majority of the books I buy are used and discounted. But since I could get them from the library, you could make the argument that buying so many books, new or otherwise, could also be considered “materialistic.”
What do you think?
by Bookish_Butterfly
17 Comments
materialism is a philosophy. you are referring to consumism or hedonism. in postmodern world everything is a product and can be consumed, books are not excluded. it depends on the value you put in them.
To me it’s only materialistic if you just buy the books to show off to people for attention but dont actually read it or even like it. Like those people who buy special hardcovers and merch and then post it on Instagram to appear trendy but they dont actually like the fandom/author.
Even with bags or cars, there are people who genuinely love them and feel happy owning them and they dont care if people notice or not. That’s just called having an interest.
If you really like to read, whats wrong with buying books? If you have a fav fandom or author and want to buy everything related to it, it’s justified.
Is wearing clothes materialistic? You could just wear a potato sack. Is living in a house materialistic? You could live in the wilds. Is having furniture materialistic? Adding salt to your food? Blowing your nose in a tissue? Doing anything but saving your money for an uncertain future for no reason?
With a word like *materialistic*, it’s important to distinguish between the literal meaning and the value judgment you may be assigning to that meaning. I think you’re materialistic about books; I don’t think that’s bad or has to be bad.
Being materialistic means that you are overly concerned with the material possession over any sort of intellectual or spiritual benefit (paraphrasing [Merriam-Webster](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/materialistic)). Material enjoyment doesn’t preclude any intellectual benefit. One can like reading books and consume them materialistically: buying bunches of books, putting them in displays and shelves, coveting specific editions of books, and so on. It just means that, given a choice, buying and possessing is more important to you than, say, buying and reselling or checking out items.
Personally, I think readers tend to fall on a spectrum in terms of materialism with books: some will mostly utilize library books or digital editions; some buy books but sell any that don’t have personal value after reading them; some specifically value procuring books themselves. So if you’re spending a lot of money on books because you like the idea of owning them, you may be materialistic about them.
If you’re talking high end books maybe like 30k first prints of old books and you only buy the best of the best and lots of it then maybe. If you’re like me, a minimalist, then maybe not because despite popular beliefs minimalism isn’t just owning 50 possessions and that’s it. If you’re getting use out of them and they fill your life with purpose then keep them. If you have them to simply have them then it’s materialistic. I own only physical copies of my absolute favorite books with high reread value and if a book interests me I borrow it or use a kindle. For me physical clutter and, to a lesser extent, digital clutter equates to a cluttered anxious mind so I imagine some people would say otherwise. At the end of the day I think if it’s making you happy then really what do other’s opinions matter?
I borrow all my books from the public library 🤷
I guess it depends on why someone buys books. There are probably people who do value the material, the physical objects most … but for most people, the value of a book is in the immaterial, the words written on the pages.
And as always, there are many shades in between these two extremes. Like, if you buy a special edition of a book you love. You will value the physical object but only because you valued the immaterial first.
Things cannot be materialistic, people can be materialistic. Books, and no other object, are inherently materialistic items regardless of value. It’s about the user more than the product.
If you concern yourself with the possession of your books as a statement, extension, or projection of you, then you are materialistic.
I think they certainly can be, like if you buy books for decorative purposes and have no intention of reading them. Or if you buy certain books as a status symbol to show off (I guess like rare books or special editions?).
Do you read the books that you buy?
Yeah, I think so.
Reading is a way of living or one of the most useful and rewarding hobbies one can have, but 95% of people romantize the idea of owning books more than reading them. You can see it here all the time. People saying stuff like “omg, I have 300 books on my TBR but I just bought this cute copy of this other book I’ll never read”.
I almost feel like collecting books is a performative hobby. It’s like being a funko pop collector, but with the added benefit that you feel smarter than anyone else.
Some would argue yes, but I actually say not in the same sense as other objects since you are getting something else out of them like knowledge, inspiration, etc. A book can also be passed around to other people to share knowledge or ideas. If you buy and don’t read them there’s still the potential that you will eventually or someone else will read them.
Pretty sure it entirely depends on the reason that you value said books
If you are buying books to read, and you are reading them, that’s just engaging in a hobby. If you are buying books just to have them, buying expensive first editions or fancy versions to show off and display for clout, that kind of thing, that seems materialistic to me.
Materialism isn’t so much about what you buy, it’s about the intent behind it. Buying stuff just to show off how much money you have and gain prestige through your material possessions is very different from buying things you genuinely enjoy and use and would buy regardless of if it positively benefits your social status or not.
When we moved cross country, mine and my partner’s fairly extensive book collection turned immediately from luxury to liability.
We each picked out a few boxes of keepers, turned the rest into digital versions and then donated them.
Yes. I had several large bookcases in my old house. Nearly filled with books. And when I decided to downsize I had to have a come to Jesus with it. We had read the vast majority of them, but we never looked at them or used them anymore. In deciding to get rid of them, I realized how much of my identity was tied up in thinking of myself as a person with books – but that’s fairly silly. Books are just objects. They’re impermanent like everything else. And that’s just not the world we live in anymore. Everything is digital now. So I got rid of them – it was hard, but as I suspected then – I don’t miss them now.
I will say, that I do have some deeper thoughts on the importance of having libraries with physical copies, because if we were to ever have some massive solar storm, or other catastrophe that decimated the internet and electronics…we’d lose a great deal of knowledge and information. That is concerning.
It depends on why you buy them.
But, yes, buying books to show them off on a shelf or because you like being surrounded by books or something is probably in some sense materialistic.
After all, you could get ebooks or borrow them from your library or something like that.
For example, I will normally read ebooks or library books but then buy the ones that heavily influenced my thinking. Part of it is so I can reread them. But mostly I want to display them on a shelf both for other people to know what matters to me and so I feel surrounded by these pieces of myself. I think both of those are materialistic goals.
I don’t think there is anything wrong with being somewhat materialistic though.