A man accused of stealing more than 800 books from a bookstore in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, has been detained by police, Yangtse Evening Post reported on Tuesday.

The man, a Nanjing resident surnamed Li, began stealing books, mostly about social science, in late February, police said. Police seized about 600 books in Li's apartment, worth about 19,000 yuan ($3,100).

“I don't know the meaning of life, so I want to seek the answer from the books,” Li was quoted as saying.

Li said he would read the books at home before selling them to trash collectors.