I have a bad memory and too many books,” distributed among four homes, “so I waste lots of time walking around searching” for a specific book. This has its upside: he’s often surprised by books he’d forgotten.

Knausgaard alternates between periods of intense reading and not reading at all; the mountains of books are, he says, largely aspirational. He classifies them into three categories: books he wants to read, books he has to read, and books he feels he ought to read. In the last, unchanging category—which he calls the superego heap—you’ll find a large number of books on philosophy.

I’ll sit in the living room and I’ll go through them, either looking for something I remember seeing, or for something to catch my eye and inspire me. And with books, there’s still an element of serendipity; you see new elements from day to day.”Kathleen Hackett & Stephen Antonson

Books are such great gifts, because they don’t just say what you think about the book, but about the person you’re giving them to.”MARK LEE

I CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT A LIBRARY, and I cannot live without a garden,” says Vik Muniz. “A garden is where we negotiate with nature—a place between the wild and the tame—and a library is where we confront everything.

I really only read in the library," he says. "I'm really attached to the idea that different spaces, whether physical or interpersonal, will create different thoughts and experiences. Having a comfortable chair, good light-- these things do put you into a state of mind to better absorb ideas.

Although he denies having a photographic memory, he admits that "when I'm looking for a line I've read, I tend to remember the place on the page, its relationship to the rest of the text.

My environment is incredibly important to me. Arranging things creates order, not just in your own space but also in all of life.

I DON'T WANT TO SOUND PRETENTIOUS," says Emmanuel de Bayser, "but I don't understand people who don't have books.

I think the way people treat books is a bit of an indicator of their character," he says.