The Collector’s Fallacy: Why We Gather Things (like books) We Don’t Need

Buying books does not equal reading books. We all know that. Yet, so many end up victims of tsundoku anyway.
Why?
One problem, I think, is that collecting feels like learning. Each time we discover a new productivity toy, internet article or bestselling book, our brain sends us a jolt of dopamine (our brain’s “reward” hormone) for doing nothing at all.
Ahh, says our brain, a job well done.

From The Collector’s Fallacy: Why We Gather Things We Don’t Need