Wednesday, January 23, 2019

Wondrous Words Wednesday: Tsundoku

Tsundoku:  Japanese for leaving a book unread after acquiring it, usually piled up together with other unread books.

I found this word, and Ella Frances Sanders' wonderful illustration (above), in a fascinating article on Pocket today, Umberto Eco's Antilibrary: Why Unread Books Are More Valuable to Our Lives than Read Ones.  After I discovered this Japanese term, I felt compelled to share it with my fellow book bloggers and readers. It certainly applies to me.  Let me know if you can relate to this, too!


Graciously hosted each week by Kathy from BermudaOnion's Weblog, Wondrous Words Wednesday is a great way to share new words you've encountered while reading.  If you want to play along, find a word (or a few words), grab the button, write a post, and then add your link to the Mr. Linky!

30 comments:

  1. Oh yes, I can certainly relate to this word! I need to practice pronouncing it so I can drop it into a conversation. Thanks for playing along!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kathy, I love this meme, and wish I could do it more often! Thanks very much for stopping by.

      Delete
  2. Tsunduko seems to have a special meaning for most bookish folks. Acquiring books that we have trouble getting to is something that so many of us do. Thanks for the link. The piece is very interesting. I will likly also read the original Umbrella Ecco essay.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Japanese or English it's a word and concept us book lovers know well LOL

    ReplyDelete
  4. I didn't know this, but it applies to me way too often.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I wonder what you call a kindle book that you bought (or just downloaded) and didn't read?

    best... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  6. A perfect word for me. When ever i buy more books i risk my wife
    Pointing out all The unread books i have from years ago

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks for the word Tsundoku and my Japanese new word for the day which describes me! Oops! Oh well! I am a tsundoku, but hopefully I can eventually get to my pile of unread books READ!

    ReplyDelete
  8. That word defines me. LOL Thanks for posting this.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thank you all for the great comments! :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh my goodness! As my TBR mountain (and various other stashes of as yet unread books) would testify I am guilty as charged ... I suffer with Tsundoku.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Uh oh - that word may describe my house! I just love books so and have a bad habit of always wanting to acquire more. I have been good about passing the bookstore by my work and not stopping in!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I am familiar with this word and not familiar. I have many TBR books and yet, had no idea this word existed...and yet it does. :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. I have a pile of tsundokus at my house, I'm ashamed to say. I'm glad you played the word game and hope you will again soon.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I can totally relate. Even more so since all of my books are currently in stacks around my house instead of on bookshelves because of some remodeling.

    ReplyDelete
  15. The article mentioned in this post is worth reading. Thank you for all of your comments!

    ReplyDelete
  16. How comforting, how encouraging! Most of the hundreds of books in my house I have not read, and maybe never will, but they represent my hopes and love of learning. Thanks so much for the links and the word :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for stopping by and for your terrific comment, GretchenJoanna.

      Delete
  17. Excellent news! I have so many unread books laying around, I can't even count them ...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for your comment, Susan. I guess that unread books are okay after all. ;)

      Delete
  18. This is the best Wondrous Word Wednesday I have ever come across! Not only did I learn something new, and important, I love that it’s Japanese!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's the BEST word, isn't it? Thanks for stopping by, Bellezza.

      Delete
  19. This is a genius idea! Especially since we tend to use always the same words these days!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kathy from BermudaOnion's Weblog hosts this meme each week. It's fun to participate and discover new words. Thanks for stopping by, Louisa!

      Delete
  20. AS lot of us can relate to the idea in the word. It would take forever to read all our unread books!

    ReplyDelete
  21. I don't know how I missed this post from last month Susan, but I can totally relate to Tsundoku...lol.

    ReplyDelete
  22. I love the opening line or lines of the Memoir. I have been meaning to read this author. Thank you for the reminder.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tea, thank you very much for commenting, although I think your comment was meant for my most current post.

      Have a terrific weekend! :)

      Delete

Your comments make this site lively! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. I value each one, and will respond to questions.

If you're entering a giveaway, please leave your e-mail address (or a link that leads to it).









Some of the books featured here were given to me free of charge by authors, publishers, and agents. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

BLOG ARCHIVE

Blog header by Held Design

Powered By Blogger