The word tsundoku comes from the verb “doku,” which means “reading,” and “tsumu,” meaning “pile up.” Tsundoku is a Japanese phrase that describes buying books and letting them pile up without reading or using them. It may also be a noun that refers to someone who accumulates books.
But aren’t you just a hoarder if you buy books and let them pile up on your shelves, nightstands, or floors? Is it even healthy?
The benefits of reading
If you can’t leave a store without buying a book or if you own more books than you could probably ever read, you probably know that books have unique benefits.
Avid readers soak in the lessons contained in books. Books help you develop critical thinking, answer some of your questions, give you new questions to mull over, and introduce you to a world of imagination.
Better yet, reading can improve your memory, stimulate your brain, and increase your empathy as you explore different worlds from your own.
People may look down upon someone with an extensive collection of never-read books. I mean, why would you have books that you have never read?
The importance of tsundoku
English words like collector, bibliophile, or even book hoarder may also be used to describe an accumulator of books. Unfortunately, some of these words may have negative connotations, but tsundoku — in its original sense — has no implied offense. And most tsundokus (the people) see the benefits of accumulating books.
Shows your ignorance
Nassim Taleb, the author of best-sellers Fooled by Randomness and The Black Swan, lays out the concept of having as many books as possible in his book The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable.
In this book, Taleb discusses Umberto Eco, the prolific scholar, novelist, and philosopher, who had a whopping 30,000 books in his library. Eco himself had done his math and saw that even if he read a book every day between the ages of 10 and 80, he would only read 25,200 books. So why have more books than you could ever read?
Taleb says that books on your shelf shouldn’t just be there to boost your ego. Instead of buying books you’ve read or on areas you’re knowledgeable about, buy books on subjects you know nothing about. He believes that people who read so much realize they know so little, hence the burning desire to learn more.
So tsundoku is not an act of hoarding, but challenging yourself to read more, to explore subjects you didn’t even think could interest you. In Taleb’s words: “The growing number of books on the shelves will look at you menacingly,” and you’ll never be comfortable that you know enough.
A treasure trove of knowledge
Most of us can’t afford to have Umberto Eco’s massive personal library, at least not in paper form. But your library, small as it may seem, can be a great resource when you want to refer to something quickly. Sometimes, Google doesn’t have all the answers, and you may need to do some good old detective work, and your books can come in handy.
Entertainment
Books, both fiction and non-fiction, can be a great source of entertainment. To some people, finding a new book is like finding a new list of unwatched movies on Netflix.
Tsundoku helps you have this book nearby whenever you are bored or free. You can crack a book open, read a chapter, and leave it for another time — possibly never.
You can call yourself a tsundoku
As mentioned, you can unshackle the negative connotations by referring to yourself or your habit as tsundoku. “Why are you buying so many books impulsively, reading your novels halfway, or acquiring titles you’re not interested in?” And your simple answer is: “I’m practicing tsundoku.”
The idea is not to hoard books or, on the other hand, buy books to read page to page. Tsundoku helps you ignite your curiosity, and instead of having books to boost your ego, they remind you of your ignorance and inspire you to learn more.
Simply put, you enjoy yourself knowing that not every book can be read in a lifetime.
