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Why exactly would you buy a book and not read it ?
The same reason anyone buys anything that they don’t use, they think they’ll enjoy it but in reality they don’t find time or lose interest.
But those things aren't the answer to OP's question, are they? I'm sure that out of all the Harry Potter or DaVinci's Code or whatever whatever popular book you look at there'll be a nice % of books that haven't been read, but I'm pretty sure that a majority of.peoole that buy them also end up reading them.
The more reasonable answer would probably be something that's popular but not necessarily something you read. Like others have said, a dictionary, cookbook, or book related to some other skill. Those are a lot more likely to go unread
The meaning of OP’s question seems blindingly obvious to me, as long as you don’t take it too literally…
I’d say the DaVinci code would be a good answer, I’ve got a copy that I’ve never read. Same with the Harry Potter books as well.
The girl on the train is another book that everyone seems to own, but nobody reads.
Looks good on the book shelf. Many people decorate with books. Look at all those old mansions you see in movies, where there is a giant library.
I guess it's never crossed my mind. I never thought someone would get a book for a reason other than reading it. They do look good in a living room
I sometimes run into interior design pics where books are organized by spine color, and I gasp and clutch my pearls at the heresy.
...but yes, some people do use books as decorative props instead of as things to be read and enjoyed for their content.
I get it. I didn't imagine books could be purely ornamental, but the consensus seems to be that's not too rare. I personally organise them broadly by genre and theme, so if I have to recommend something to friend I will point at a particular shelf and go "look in there"
Every IKEA has books all over the place for decor, and they’re all in Swedish.
People buy false books for decoration, so...
I had no idea
So other people think you did read it. Perhaps for the binding color in a background. Maybe to impress people while holding it in a cafe. To burn.
I have a pretty decent sized library. My fiction section is about 95% read, but the non-fiction sections are much less. You sometimes buy non-fiction as reference materials, to flip through, etc. Not necessarily to read cover-to-cover. (I'd guess my non-fiction is 25% read.)
I’ve purchased many books that I haven’t physically read.
I mostly read on my Kindle, or I listen to audiobooks. But for books I really love, I will also buy the physical copy to display.
Fair enough, I've never considered that before, but I understand it
Because the book is boring ? Or poorly written ?
The OP seemed to imply that not reading the book was always the plan, not because it was dropped halfway through because it's boring. But perhaps I'm reading too much into it