How to Build an Antilibrary

Nassim Taleb's and Umberto Eco's Antilibrary

In his essay "How to Justify a Private Library", which is part of his collection of essays titled "How to Travel with a Salmon and Other Essays" the Italian novelist, philosopher, semiotician, and literary critic, Umberto Eco, points out the value of unread books in ones library. Nassim Taleb coined the term antilibrary in his book "The Black Swan" to describe such collections of unread books. The value of an antilibrary lies in the potential knowledge and insights that the unread books represent. Having a large number of unread books can serve as a reminder of the vastness of human knowledge and the limitations of an individual's understanding. The more books you read the bigger your antilibrary grows, as you become aware of more and more books.

Your Digital Antilibrary

Normal people can't afford to build a physical antilibrary due to limitations in space and money. Their only alternative is a digital one. The purpose of the LindyBook project is to provide a digital antilibrary of lindy books to remind everyone of the vast literary treasures that humans produced and that await the curious minds willing to study them.