I ran across a new (to me) word recently that many readers might be able to relate to. Tsundoku is a Japanese term for the tendency to buy books and let them pile up around the house unread. The word derives from a combination of tsunde-oku (to let things pile up) and dokusho (to read books).
Author Antoine Wilson writes on the Literary Hub website that he uses tsundoku as a “get-out-of-jail-free card. Instead of castigating myself over new purchases, or for not clearing enough shelf space for the books I already have . . . I tell myself that I’m 'practising tsundoku.'
“’That’s not a pile, it’s a tsundoku,’ I say to my wife, the magic word transforming the stack into something unshackled from negative associations, into what I see when I look at it, a tower of potential reading experiences.”
By Wilson’s definition the entire public library system could be described as a giant tsundoku. And hey, isn’t that what we’re here for?
Points of view on collecting books vary wildly. Marie Kondo, the declutter queen, suggests that we thin out our bookshelves by asking ourselves, “Will these books be beneficial to my life moving forward?”
At the other extreme is the suggestion that it should be obligatory that all living spaces come with built-in bookshelves and a hammock. After all, have you noticed that people gravitate towards your bookshelves when they enter a room, and never examine your sock or cutlery drawers?
If you love words as much as I do, here are a few wonderful ones related to books and reading that you could casually drop into a conversation:
Bibliomania: The irresistible urge to collect and read books. Kind of a first cousin to tsundoku. Which bring us to
Bibliotaph: One who hides away or hordes books.
Librocubicularist: Someone who likes to read books in bed. From the Latin liber (book) and cubiculum (bedroom). Library patrons tell us that paperbacks are easier on the nose if you tend to fall asleep while reading.
Ballycumber: One of the six half-read books lying somewhere in your bed. Related to the above and coined by Douglas Adams, author of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
Book-bosomed: Sir Walter Scott coined this term, which means carrying a book at all times. I don’t think it has to be inside your shirt. A book bag will do.
Bibliosmia: The unofficial term for the aroma of a book. Those of you who read e-books exclusively are missing this experience. Here’s a thought: aromatherapy e-readers. And finally, we have
Bibliotherapy: The use of reading materials for help solving personal problems. Like hoarding books, perhaps?
Happy reading!
