You may have heard of the numerical Sudoku game, but I play a much better game. And a lot more fun.
Tsundoku.
Do you tsundoku?
That may be unfair, so let me have the Cambridge online dictionary give you the definition:
The practice of buying a lot of books and keeping them in a pile because you intend to read them but have not done so yet; also used to refer to the pile itself.
Until I recently expanded my office shelf-space, you may have either called the collection an episode of the Hoarders television show or, my preference, the tsundoku challenge.
I find great pleasure in being surrounded by books. The collected wisdom of incredibly brilliant people who have poured their lives into words that are bound in a way that I can carry them with me. Amazing.
I have an idea. I should get a job working with books. Oh, wait. I already did.
Next time we see each other, on the count of three, throw up your hands and shout gleefully, “Tsundoku!”
Fun Fridays – August 25, 2023
The pile of books that can’t be banished
(along with the odd DVD)
because they call to mind the vanished
person that used to be me.
It’s hard to see in these fell days
a bright belief in happy ending,
but in their presence, are there ways
for God to achieve a mending,
not of body, but of soul,
that old dreams take flight again?
Can dusty pages make me whole,
and does enough of me remain
to choose that they are not consigned
to the netherworld of Left Behind?
Haha, I must admit, your enthusiasm for tsundoku is contagious! While I do enjoy reading, I can’t say I tsundoku to the same extent as you do. However, I can definitely understand the joy of being surrounded by books and the allure of their wisdom. It sounds like you have found your own little haven among those shelves. And hey, working with books sounds like a dream come true! I’ll make sure to remember the secret tsundoku handshake for our next encounter.
I have my physical stacks from over the years but now, with aging eyes, they are piling up electronically in my Kindle. LOL!
I do. I do tsundoku!
I love the feeling of a book
The weight, the cover
The leather, the smell
The worn edges
And dog-eared pages
And, oh yes
The stories, the wisdom, the journies
The stirrings of my imagination
And my emotions
Oh, Steve, Steve, Steve . . .
Yea, verilly, this is so prevalent in our home that is borders on being an issue in my marriage.
“Why do you need so many books? Look at all the space they take up! Do you even read all of these?”
These are the paths we must travel.
Tsundoku!!
I solved that problem. I have hundreds of books … but my husband has thousands. 😁
Having recently acquired my CDL-A and having also just moved with what I consider a large number of books, please allow me to give some unsolicited advice to book hoarders like myself.
If you move more than 50 miles or so, the moving company must charge you by the weight of the items you are moving.
Books are heavy. To save money, do not move them with professional movers. Package them in extra small book boxes (unless of course they are oversized books), and have some students put them on a rental truck for you.
4 Rules
Do this before the pro movers arrive because it will annoy them to see their income stream diminished by students carrying your heaviest items out the door instead of them.
Ask Uhaul to give you a newer truck. Inspect it before you take it. Make sure it is an over-the-road Uhaul and not local. Uhaul puts their best trucks OTR. Hauling truckloads of paper is more hazardous than hauling truckloads of cereal or popped corn. Your header and floor boards need to be able to contain the load.
Be cautious about letting family and friends convince you to give up your practice of Tsundoku. Having a pile of books near you is somehow more comforting than seeing them all perfectly displayed across the room on a shelf—especially if they are hardcover. 📚
Never let family or friends convince you that you should give up your books. If you love them, they are like friends, and you can never have too many. 😃
These posts make me feel so understood.
Tsundoku! \0/
Ahh yes, Tsundoko. My to-read pile proudly stands at three feet. Because I mentor ladies, I keep several copies of my favorites to hand out, beginning with “Streams in the Desert”. I slipped a copy of “The Case for Christ” to a repairman who was undecided. Books are a treasure.
Tsundoku! You mentioned, “I find great pleasure in being surrounded by books.” So true! I find comfort in knowing my friends and classics surround me in a warm hug, providing knowledge, protection, wisdom, and encouragement. There are worse habits. 🙂
My wife says I can’t buy any more books until I get rid of some of the ones I have. How can I do that? I built bigger bookcases. The thought has occurred to me to utilize the new field of artificial intelligence by dictating all of my favorite reference books into a depository and just asking it a question when I need help. That would be more reliable than Google and a lot faster, but it would not be tangible or visible. Oh, well. Tsundoku!
Because of my husband’s dementia, we moved from our home to live with our daughter. The hardest part was parting with Bill’s books from over 50 years in ministry. Now as I collect and edit his sermons for publication, I’m often at a loss for finding those excerpts he quoted. In the meantime, my own collection of books has grown. Thanks, Steve, for this appreciation of expanding books.
This makes so much sense! Now I have a name for the serious problem I have of way too many books with not enough shelf space or time to read………….. Hahaha, thank you, Mr Steve, for diagnosing my problem!
hahaha
Love this!
“I find great pleasure in being surrounded by books. The collected wisdom of incredibly brilliant people who have poured their lives into words that are bound in a way that I can carry them with me. Amazing.”
Thanks, Steve
Yes! Tsundoku!
Tsundoku … I refer to it as the “ever-growing TBR pile.” And I justify that for when I’m old and can’t get out of my chair, I’ll have LOTS of books to read! haha!
So, I guess I’ll have to practice calling out: “Would someone please bring me a book?”
I just finished reading “Do You Tsundoku?” Yes, I guess I do, Tsundoku. I have fourteen books staked by my recliner. Three are bookmarked in places where I have read and marked. I have two books on my Kindle that I am currently reading and another paperback book that I want to read again. This is not unusual for me, since I read an average of three books a week.
What a great word. I was lamenting last night because my son said his school has a weight room, though they have no library.
“We have a library. It’s in one of the teacher’s rooms. There are at least 200 books!”
To which I replied that I have 400 just on my Kindle.
I’ve run out of shelf space everywhere else.
I love learning new words. Thanks!