The Fully Digital Library — Cultivating Your Goes Anywhere Personal Learning Network

Photo by Jaredd Craig on Unsplash

My friend Daniel recently wrote a newsletter article entitled Personal Libraries on why he maintains a large personal library of physical books. His article was perfect timing for something I’ve been moving towards for a long time which is moving to a nearly fully digital library. I agree with Daniel’s points and I intend to extend them here to show the benefits of what I’m gathering from moving to a fully digital library.

What I’ve Learned in a Half Year of a Book Buying Break

For many years, my definition of a “rich life” — a concept from financial educator Ramit Sethi — is that I could buy any book I want at any time.

However, I am also a hoarder who is striving to become minimalist. My attachment to physical things is costly to me and to the environment. The physical things also represent space in my brain — unread books, unfinished projects, guilt for not being the right size to fit into clothes in my closet… I may not be able to immediately fit into my clothes, but I can stop buying books I have no plan to read.

So, at the beginning of 2023, I decided to take a Book Buying Break. I borrowed this wording from cultivatedreads…