It’s true. I’m guilty. I buy books, and I don’t read them. I don’t think I’m alone in this endeavor. In fact, I know I’m not as it turns out there’s an actual term for this behavior.
If you love language, you’ll love this word. The Japanese word tsundoku" (積ん読) means the act of buying books and letting them pile up unread. Originally, a Japanese slang term, it originated in the Meiji era (1868–1912). The term also refers to unread books on a bookshelf meant for reading later. Yes, that sounds so much like me. My childhood longing to read all the books ever written helps to keep me whole. As a result, I have several unread books sitting on my bookshelves. In fact, I now have entire shelves devoted to unread books.
Nearly half of my unread books were picked up at the two library book sales I attended over the past year. The other half were purchased at my independent bookstore that opened in October of 2023. It’s the first one in our town and has become an idyllic place for me to visit. Being inside the bookshop feels as bright as lighting a match in the deepest dark. Yet, being there is also as gentle as the glow of soft candlelight.
Oh, the joys of going in to pick up the monthly bookclub selection (bookclub books always get read). However, going to purchase the bookclub book has turned into me leaving with an armful of books that are now artfully gracing my bookshelves. Sadly, many of them remain unread.
Does anyone else do this? Go into the bookstore for one book, vowing this time it’ll only be one book, yet leaving with a bag’s worth of books?
And here’s the thing—my semi-annual Friends of the Library book sale is coming up the last weekend of April and so is Independent Bookstore Day (April 26th)—they’re happening the same weekend. I’m going to be honest, these upcoming happy events are stressing me out!
You see, I don’t feel I can justify buying more bags of books if I haven’t read the spoils from last year. I also don’t have the bookshelf space.
Alas, what’s a book-loving-bookworm to do?
I feel it’s time to get my tsundoku under control. So for the rest of April, I plan to do the opposite of tsundoku and engage in another favorite Japanese word—dokusho (読書) actively reading my unread books. I’m challenging myself to read from my bookshelves.
This means no checking out library books for the rest of the month, and no bookstore shopping for the remainder of the month.
And that brings us to the next dilemma, what will I read? Oh, the possibilities!
This is where I’d love your help if you’re willing to give it. Below is a list of fifteen books for me to choose from. Let me know in the comments if you’ve read any of them. What are your thoughts? Which one(s) should I choose? I’m thinking maybe 2-3 to see me through the rest of the month. Any ideas would be most appreciated.
List of books (in no particular order, just the order I saw them on my bookshelf):
We Solve Murders by Richard Osman
Wish Come True by Eileen Goudge
One Last Dance by Eileen Goudge
One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp
The Broken Way: A Daring Path Into the Abundant Life by Ann Voskamp
Somehow: Thoughts on Love by Anne Lamott
By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult
Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs
Fellowship Point by Alice Elliott Dark
While I’m Falling by Laura Moriarty
Plain Roots by Becki Willis *she’s actually a local-to-me author, and I bought her book when I met her at a library event
The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim *on my kindle
There you have it. My to be read (tbr) list for the rest of April will be coming straight from my own bookshelves. I’m genuinely looking forward to the challenge. These are the books I’ve gifted myself to read from the hands and souls of other writers. Now is the time to read at least a few of them.
Perhaps, I’ll find some stories made from heartbreak, beauty made out of sorrow, and comfort from the extraordinary of every day things. All the things that reading a good book can bring me. Here’s to tackling my bookshelves and hours of happy reading!
If this post resonated with you, you found something of interest, or you simply have something to share, feel free to leave a comment.
P.S. Is anyone else guilty of buying books and not reading them? Please tell me I’m not alone in this practice. If so, what would you love to read off your own bookshelves? Let us know in the comments. We appreciate hearing from you! Thank you from our heart for engaging with our art.
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