Getting rid of old books is one of the easiest ways to declutter, but for some of us, being surrounded by them is not only an aesthetic choice but strangely comforting.
Apparently Japanese culture knows some people feel that way too, which is why they have a word for people who buy and hold onto more books than one human can physically read in their lifetime. The official definition of 'tsundoku' is the stockpiling of books that will never be consumed.
The word is a combination of several Japanese words, including 'tsunde,' which means to stack things; 'oku,' which means to leave for a while; and 'doku,' which means to read. Sadly, there's no direct synonym in English.
According to a subreddit dedicated to the word, there is a scale in which one would fall when it comes to tsundoku: having just one unread book to being a serious hoarder. 'Everyone is most likely to be "tsundokursed" one way or the other,' it says.
Which is kinda cool.
