Tsundoku - an unread counter for books

Probably in the late 90s, when I had catched up with the then current instalment in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series and was compulsively checking into the bookstore patiently waiting for the next release, was the last time my unread books pile had a height of zero. In general, I am struggling with leaving a bookstore without a purchase. There is always a new release by a favorite author, an interesting staff recommendation, a book catching my eye that I believe I always wanted to read, or one that simply looks gorgeous, begging to be shown off on a bookshelf¹. And so there will always be some residual reading material, waiting to be picked up.

Only recently I learned about the word Tsundoku, of Japanese origin, which describes exactly that, a pile of books (or a stack on a shelf) yet to be read. My current unread pile comprises 21 books² (spread over different places, not as the wobbly stack pictured here). I will check in with that pile over the course of the year, seeing what kind of progress I make. What I read depends on the circumstances, often an ebook at night or while commuting, and a physical book from the pile when I find the quiet time to read during the day.

When I learned about the word Tsundoku, I wondered if it would also apply to music. I used to have (and from time to time still have, but more rarely since the pervasiveness of streaming) a pile of unlistened records. However, these piles were of a slightly different nature. They were not caused by bying music faster than I could listen. Instead, back in the days of mailorder, we would order in bulk to share shipping cost, or to have the unconvenient experience of collecting from customs and paying tax or duty just once in a while.