Word You Should Know: Tsundoku

I bet you’ve got one by your bed right now :)

It’s a phenomenon that afflicts all bibliophiles: the accumulation of unread novels on your nightstand. You intend to get to each of those books, but the stack just keeps growing and growing until it’s an intimidating tower. The Japanese have a word for this — tsundoku — and it translates to “pile-up of reading.” 

I feel affection for — and stress over — my own tsundoku every day. It’s a permanent fixture on my bedside table, although the books that make up the disheveled pile do get replaced as I methodically attack the novel that sits on top. Sometimes when I notice the tsundoku exceeding five books, I panic and start to gulp down two or three of them at once. This isn’t a particularly effective strategy, as it typically means I end up enjoying none of them. 

As much as my tsundoku gives me agita, though, it also fortifies me. What’s a cozier sight than a stockpile of stories, just waiting to be consumed? A new book always warms my heart; a stack of them brings it close to bursting! As a teenager, I used to spend a few weeks every summer at my aunt and uncle’s home in small-town Virginia, and the thing I fussed over packing the most was my tsundoku — a hodgepodge of The Baby-Sitters Club, Christopher Pike, and Judy Blume books, along with some comforting classics like The Secret Garden, Heidi, and Little Women. I can still remember curling up on my favorite blue couch in their sitting room and pulling the pile of books out from my backpack to admire it. I almost didn’t want to dig in so the stories would stay enigmatic forever, but of course I could never resist for long.

For my recent vacation to Playa del Carmen with family and friends, I once again turned my “pile-up of reading” into a traveling tsundoku, tucking into it on the plane, on the beach, and by the pool. (The pools of the Grand Velas, by the way, are stunning feats of design and one of the many things we loved about this fabulous resort.)

Here’s a snapshot of the books I brought and how far I got with each one!

The Alice Network by Kate Quinn

I’m a bit late to the game on this one (The Alice Network was published in 2017, and Quinn has since released two other bestsellers, including The Rose Code), but a recent, enthusiastic recommendation from a friend finally propelled it to the top of my stack. I spent most of the plane ride to Mexico plowing through this “dual timeline spy thriller” and found the vivid backdrop of wartime Europe fascinating, as it is in all of Quinn’s atmospheric stories. 

The Light We Carry by Michelle Obama

I was completely won over by how authentic and deeply personal Obama’s first memoir, Becoming, was and expected a lot from this follow-up. It totally delivered: An uplifting, intimate narrative that feels like you’re having a warm conversation with a mom friend (who just happened to be the FLOTUS not so long ago). I even picked up a new trick on how to start the day off right each morning!

I Want to Die But I Want to Eat Tteokbokki by Baek Sehee 

I’ve been gobbling up all the recent books by authors of Asian descent, and this one was a Christmas gift from my sister-in-law. I only got started toward the end of my trip but am already intrigued by the dialogue between the Korean author (the book is a translation) and her therapist. Just take a look at the endearing synopsis: “A successful young social media director at a publishing house begins seeing a psychiatrist about her — what to call it? — depression. She feels persistently low, anxious, endlessly self-doubting, but also highly judgmental of others. This can’t be normal. But if she’s so hopeless, why does she always summon a desire for her favorite street food: the hot, spicy rice cake, tteokbokki?”

Intimacies by Katie Kitamura

This was a birthday gift from Brooke, and I was eager to crack it open while on the trip but sadly ran out of time. It currently occupies the top spot of my tsundoku, now returned home with some new additions (it never ends!), so I’ll be getting to it soon. Intimacies seems to check all the boxes for me: a National Book Award longlist about an interpreter who faces drama at her work in international court, as well as in her personal relationships. Based on the Goodreads comments, this seems to be one of those books that — because of the particular style and language — people either love and obsess over, or hate and don’t get. I’m so curious to find out which camp I fall into!

New additions to my tsundoku based on what I saw other vacationers reading now include the buzzy, twisty thriller The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena, A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman (recently made into movie starring Tom Hanks), and Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr. That last book is something I’ve been meaning to read forever, but I’m being told may not be worth my time. Still, it seems plenty of people love it — and I can be convinced to stick with it. Did you read Cloud Cuckoo Land and would recommend it? What books make up your tsundoku, and what are your tricks for keeping it manageable? Also, don’t forget to subscribe if you’d like to keep the reading recos coming!