Tsundoku

I am not sure where I first came across this word. Maybe I found it on Farnham Street or Barking up the Wrong Tree. But I love this word. Here’s a great article on Tsunduko.

A Tsundoku is a “Reading Pile”.

I nibble at the books around me, and probably finish 1 in 3 of the books that I start. I’m almost 45 years old and have been doing this for about 25 years. Until I read this article, and another on The Antilibrary I thought this was a bad thing. 

I felt bad for hoarding books and never fully absorbing each and every one. This contributed to my feelings of being a fraud. Like I was a poser. I had all the right books on my nightstand, but never read each of them fully.

Yet I’d go back to books over the years and re-read or progress. Cross reference and collate notes. Turns out, those are the exact reasons people argue you should aquire books, and not finish them linearly. To get the gist and connect the dots.

I’m in the middle of packing to move. Once we settle in, I should have some more room for a proper “Antilibrary”. I’m looking forward to that quite a bit.