This is a sample chapter from newly-launched book called Unread Bookshelf - On The Books We Meant To Read

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The Japanese have a word:
Tsundoku.

It refers to the practice of owning books that are not meant to be read.

Books organized in a pile, so that you can be in the presence of books.

Books filling up a wall of shelves, to overwhelm. You won’t have the capacity to read them all, and that’s the point.

Something happens, visually, when there are too many details.

The Japanese have another word for that:
Shinrin-yoku.

It means “forest bathing”, a practice offering therapeutic relaxation by being subjected to the overwhelming visual details found in nature. In that setting, the mind relaxes.

A wall full of books might offer you a similar, relaxing feeling.

Whether for relaxation, or for the pleasure, or for creating humility (how will I ever read all these books?), maybe the antidote to an unread bookshelf is a bookshelf that you won’t ever intend to read.

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More essays like this, for encouragement on resetting your relationship with all those unread books, consider buying Unread Bookshelf - On Those Books We Meant To Read.