Tsundoku is the Japanese term for a reading pile.
When I went to bed I noticed something had changed.
The books I’m reading had been formed into a neat pile.
As individual books, scattered around a room, it didn’t create a problem.
But when stacked one on top of another, the problem became clear.
Too many books and not enough time and focus to finish them.
Podcasts recommend books
Friends recommend books
Courses recommend books
Celebrities recommend (their) books
Ads on Instagram ‘recommend’ books
Amazon sells a lot of books
I don’t think I’m the only person with a pile of books to read. Here are a few simple rules I’m going to follow to reduce the pile:
1. No more than 2 books in the pile – one I’m reading, plus the next one I’m going to read.
2. If the pile is full, no more books can be purchased (that’s what wish lists were made for).
3. If a book isn’t very good, I’ll skip to the bits that might be useful, or move on to the next book.
4. Always read with a pencil – to highlight the best bits from each one
