If you’re like me, you’ve got a lot of ideas about what you can do with your free time. Maybe some of those ideas are such things as: reading! Or what I do, spend money on books, novels and essays that you’re not really going to read anytime soon, but having them on your shelf makes you feel prepared for the end times. I’m not talking about a holy book. Just books, which could be about holy things I suppose but let me stop before I digress further.
While offering no solution about how to actually crack open and finish said books, we can better define the behavior by borrowing a term from Japanese. “Tsundoku” (stumbled upon an article from BBC ), a Japanese word (with an interestingly organic etymology) that means “to let reading pile up”. And the best part? It’s not supposed to carry a negative connotation. So don’t be ashamed to admit it!
I mean, I am. But you shouldn’t be.
And here I am posting it for the world to read. Albeit, in a corner of the internet visited less than the dark web.
Sure, I can’t help but feel bad that I tsundoku. Yet still, I go to a book store, or on my Kindle, and pick up a book by a renowned author or was recommended by a friend, acquaintance, or even a single-serving friend….and there it sits on my shelf, with no inspiration to pick it up, because (or at least what I think the reason is) there’s no urgency to do so.
Now, if I ever find a way to actually develop that urgency, and spend time reading instead of playing video games, fiddling with electronics, and watching TV or Movies, I’ll be sure to share that pro tip. We could all benefit. But quieting the mind long enough to focus on reading is something I find to be more challenging as time goes on. Also, the undivided attention a book requires is difficult to find time for. But I read once, on reddit, that Stephen King suggests always carrying a book with you and reading all the time. In line somewhere. Before a movie starts. In traffic (if it’s not a screen it’s okay, right?). Walking, but only for skilled-readers. Etcetera.
On the off chance actual humans read this, what do you do to get into the reading mood? What’s the last book you picked up that you haven’t even finished the first chapter of? I need some more titles to pick up and keep around for when I break a leg.