I keep lots of Japanese books...
- Thread starter Muz1234
- Start date
- 8 Aug 2005
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There's a word for this in Japanese: Tsundoku
www.openculture.com
I would ask what do you want to do with them? Some people collect just to have things, others collect because they want to use the thing. If your goal is to read them, I suggest putting aside an hour a day to read and work toward that goal. As a helpful motivator you can set aside a shelf for the books you've finished, so you can see your progress.
If you just like having them, that's fine too... But if you want to put them to use but know you won't read them yourself, you can offer them for sale, or loan them out, or give them away so other people can have a chance to read them.
“Tsundoku,” the Japanese Word for the New Books That Pile Up on Our Shelves, Should Enter the English Language
There are some words out there that are brilliantly evocative and at the same time impossible to fully translate. Yiddish has the word shlimazl, which basically means a perpetually unlucky person. German has the word Backpfeifengesicht, which roughly means a face that is badly in need of a fist.
I would ask what do you want to do with them? Some people collect just to have things, others collect because they want to use the thing. If your goal is to read them, I suggest putting aside an hour a day to read and work toward that goal. As a helpful motivator you can set aside a shelf for the books you've finished, so you can see your progress.
If you just like having them, that's fine too... But if you want to put them to use but know you won't read them yourself, you can offer them for sale, or loan them out, or give them away so other people can have a chance to read them.
- 8 Aug 2005
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- 3,727
The question is, ARE you going to read them? If you are, then start reading! The faster you finish the less reason you have to hold onto it. Set a timer and start right now.
If you know you'll never get to it, I've never regretted giving away something that I wasn't going to use to someone who was excited about receiving that gift.
- 24 Jun 2021
- 23
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This dilemma is why I would recommend going with software, e-books, and/or audio books. Depending on your computer and software setup, e-books can be read out loud, like audio books. A lot of books also have an e-book version that you can download (after buying). Software also has the added advantage of quizzes and other multimedia extras. It is 2021, so arguably a good time to embrace technology.
Software and e-books also don't get dirty (or invaded by insects), are not heavy, saves on cutting down trees, and are easier to move from location to location. Not so fun to have a 50 book collection, and moving to a new location or finding out that you just don't have room for all of them.
As for the books that you have now, if you haven't read them and can't get e-book versions of them, probably best that you mark time on your calendar to at least read them. If you are not that interested, then give them away to people that are. There are always the nostalgic or old-fashioned types that would appreciate it.
- 8 Aug 2005
- 7,316
- 3,727
I like the idea of setting a give-away date; if by that time you haven't even started reading it, offer it up for someone else. If you're in the middle you can push back the date once, so you get one more chance to finish it by your deadline. If that doesn't motivate you to finish the book, then you probably weren't that interested to begin with.
- 14 Mar 2002
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Wow, this is the first time I feel old because I own (and love) books.
I prefer holding a book in my hands to reading from a screen. I spend most of the day in front of screens. I love the sensory sensation of smelling a decade-old tome with yellowed pages and touching its leather binding. One man's dirt is another man's testimony to days gone by.
Cf. vellichor
I fully agree here.
