Flights of Fantasy discussion

From the article:

Do you have a habit of picking up books that you never quite get around to reading?

If this sounds like you, you might be unwittingly engaging in tsundoku - a Japanese term used to describe a person who owns a lot of unread literature.

Professor Andrew Gerstle teaches pre-modern Japanese texts at the University of London.

He explained to the BBC the term might be older than you think - it can be found in print as early as 1879, meaning it was likely in use before that.

The word "doku" can be used as a verb to mean "reading". According to Prof. Gerstle, the "tsun" in "tsundoku" originates in "tsumu" - a word meaning "to pile up".

So when put together, "tsundoku" has the meaning of buying reading material and piling it up.

"The phrase 'tsundoku sensei' appears in text from 1879 according to the writer Mori Senzo," Prof. Gerstle explained. "Which is likely to be satirical, about a teacher who has lots of books but doesn't read them."

While this might sound like tsundoku is being used as an insult, Prof. Gerstle said the word does not carry any stigma in Japan.

You can read the rest here: https://getpocket.com/explore/item/ts...


Do any of you experience/practice tsundoku?

I admit that it's a rather bad habit of mine, lol.

Of the books I have actually cataloged in my permanent collection (1124), my BC stats are showing 534 books read with 591 books unread. O_O

BTW, there are a lot of books not in my permanent collection...

:-D

Good to know I'm not alone.

And I haven't cataloged my entire collection - especially my ebooks. Or as I call them: The Legion.

I have tried. I think that I've done a good job with my physical books, in that I know what I have (though not how many), and I know how many I have NOT read of what I own.

I have not done the same with ebooks though because

You should see my house.... I have bookcases upon bookcases of unread books. Most of my books are unread. I have been collecting books since I was a child. I buy like 90% second hand and have found many good deals through out the years. It doesn't help that at one point for a good many years I lived about a 10 min walk to two second hand book store.

Nicki wrote: "But that's not a problem with my book collecting habit, that's a problem with my house being too small."

Isn't it that always all our problems? LOL

Becky wrote: "I have tried. I think that I've done a good job with my physical books, in that I know what I have (though not how many), and I know how many I have NOT read of what I own.

I have not done the sa..."

THis is how I feel about cataloging my ebooks. Not. Happening.

My tsundoku is, and always has been, out of control. At any given time I've read between 10 and 15% of what I have lying around. A book for every mood!

I've got a spreadsheet with (I think) all my ebooks in it. It was pretty easy to put together since almost all my ebook purchases come from that company whose name starts with A and ends with n, and they log everything I've bought.

No cataloging on the paper stuff, though. I have a pretty good idea of what I have, and where any given book is located, so there doesn't seem to be a huge need for it. It seems important to track the ebooks, because there's always the chance I will buy a collection of books I've already purchased individually.

This year I decided on a 3-to-1 read-to-bought ratio for a personal challenge, and here toward the end of February I've already backslid a bit. I am really trying to learn not to feel deprived if I'm not buying a book every few days, and it's so hard! Especially when there's a group read for something I'm very interested in trying out.

I have been utilizing the library a lot more since I got the Libby app. It's helping me to not buy as many books, and also to be able to actually participate in more group reads (theoretically anyway).

I wish I could say this. Instead, I pick up books randomly from random places if it just looks good. I have to find a reason NOT to buy them.

But those are physical books. I've gotten better at not buying so many ebooks - simply due to KU and my FI, LO issues...

I have a large horde of books - some from years ago, some impulse bought in a book shop that does cheap offers - and a tiny flat. I have used every ounce of storage space. I always mean to read them and I've put them away in the most orderly fashion I can. I'm working through them - slowly, as limited time allows. I just like knowing I have them!

I also have so many unread books. My husband is an avid reader but he reads the same 50 books over and over. My mom likes to read but she doesn’t like to read books twice so she gives me all of her books which is fun. I don’t buy many books anymore since I recently have the attention span of a gnat. I stopped buying books when I realized that I don’t read anymore so I exclusively do audiobooks now. I’ve been an audible member for about 12 years so my audible library is massive. I often take advantage of the buy one get one sales and the $5 sales so I have a ton of books I don’t even know about.

I did have my books catalogued when I lived by myself in my wonderful townhouse. I had so much space and a room dedicated to my library. Then I got married and moved in with my husband and we combined our libraries which made a massive library in a house made for hobbits. Now we’re in a bigger house and I don’t have everything unpacked and nothing is in order. I have a kid now so I have time for nothing.

Someday I’ll get the books, ebooks and audiobooks sorted into a lovey access database. But today is not that day. And tomorrow looks bad as well.