
“Tsundoku,” the Japanese Word for the New Books That Pile Up on Our Shelves - ColinWright
http://www.openculture.com/2014/07/tsundoku-should-enter-the-english-language.html
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gjkood
I wish my "Tsundoku" could have been an investment that could generate some
passive income. But alas my copy of "Sams Teach Yourself Visual Basic in 24
hours" circa 1995 (or so), is still untouched. Just never got the necessary 24
hours to learn it. Maybe I can sell it by the tonnage sometime.

I thought that going the Kindle and digital media route would have saved me
from adding to my "Tsundoku", but I am back in collection mode again.

There is something about a physical book that the Kindle reading experience
could never recreate. In fact I find myself spending almost twice the money
because I want both formats.

~~~
hudibras
One main advantage of the Kindle is that my tsundoku is now not as visible to
my wife. No more raised eyebrows at the latest Amazon box to appear on the
doorstep.

Still have to be sure that she doesn't look too closely at the credit card
statement, though...

~~~
gjkood
Oh yes, the raised eyebrows and the disapproving looks. I have mastered the
art of unboxing and recycling the amazon packaging within a few seconds of it
reaching the front door. One must learn to manage under adverse conditions.

~~~
binarymax
Wow I must be lucky. Every order of mine brings welcome encouragement coupled
with optimism. Of course I will shortly be conquering the world with my
newfound knowledge. No questions asked when the first chapter gets read
excitedly and then shelved for eternity.

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taf2
Sadly I use my brower tabs as my Tsundoku... I keep them open for months and
even years.

~~~
fiveoak
I have 100 tabs open right now across 12 windows... I think I have a problem.

~~~
frooxie
Ok, you made me count. I have exactly 50(!) windows open, and the three first
windows I checked had 34, 7, and 15 tabs. I know at least two of the windows
have about 100 tabs each. Altogether, I estimate maybe 700-800 tabs?

I wish I were joking.

~~~
grimman
There's an addon for Firefox that does the job for you. It's depressing for
people like us, but if you still want to get an accurate count, the name is
simply "Open Tab Count". Proceed with caution... :|

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fencepost
My wife notes that now there needs to be a similar word for
electronics/gadgets acquired but never really used (probably a lot of them
through Kickstarter).

~~~
yitchelle
My wife calls them "DGs" for dust gathers, although it would sound more zen if
it was the Japanese equivalent.

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drdaeman
Wonder what's the word for games bought but never played. ;)

~~~
icefox
Or generically how about a word to describe a customer that buys your stuff,
but never opens it?

I have been thinking of kickstarting a board game where there will be 500
boxes, 499 contain blank stuff, 1 contains the stuff with the printing
materials etc. As long as you leave your copy shrink wrapped yours might be
the really valuable one.

~~~
jameshart
I like it - the metagame is basically a distributed prisoners dilemma around
notional future value. You should call the game 'blockchain'

~~~
jameshart
(Actually, I just realized that a far more accurate analogy arises if you were
to call the game 'CDO'. Now I'm depressed.)

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eggy
I used to worry over having unread books around, but now I prefer a library of
unread books from which I can browse and pick. A library of books already read
is just for show, or just takes up space if you are not referencing them or
re-reading them. Tsundoku is the way you should keep your library, but
preferably not on the floor and nightstands. Guilty:)

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euske
I teach CS at a Japanese school and I used this word to explain what is a
stack. (For queues, I used the word "tokoroten")

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vinceguidry
I've been building a web app to manage this, among other things. As of right
now, I have 184 things in the pile. Books, Steam Games, (most from Humble
Bundles) movies. I figure if I go through one every two days, it'll take me a
year to go through the current list. Every time I load the page, it gives me a
random item on the list.

Books aren't that big of a time investment when you realize that very few of
them are really worth reading all of. I don't feel any qualms about putting
one down halfway through. Once I feel like reading more would be masochistic,
I click 'finished' and then find something else to do with my time.

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trynumber9
I've always called it the backlog. Don't think we need a loanword for it.

~~~
jdavis703
Yes, it's much better to have a list of things you want to learn than a list
of things you learned in the past.

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rickdale
Since I am assuming readers will look at this page, can someone explain to me
how to hold a book without pain? I didn't read too much as a kid and I wonder
if I just didn't build up the right muscles, but now, I like to read big
books, but my forearm and fingers start to hurt from holding it. I have looked
up different ways to hold books, but I haven't found anything yet that I like.

This is what I like the ipad for. I don't like the idea of the ipad, but
reading in the dark and pain free in hard to beat.

~~~
resolutionx
Sorry if this comes across the wrong way, but have you tried building your
grip/forearm strength up? It's an easy muscle group to activate.

However I'm not sure many muscles are good at being tensed for extended
periods. I've always just shifted around the way I hold the book every few
minutes.

~~~
saalweachter
+1. Building a little bit of hand/arm strength also isn't a bad idea for a
computer profession, to help reduce the risk of RSI.

Are you trying to support the book completely with your hands? I do a lot of
reading while laying down with the book on my stomach or sitting with the book
on a table or propped up on my knees. The only time I'm holding the book in
the air is when I'm walking or cycling.

~~~
Poyeyo
I used to suffer from various small pains, even a Quake2 induced pain in the
dorsal side of the hand, and they stopped when I started to use a bike and
lift weights.

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beloch
I go through reading phases where I blow through book after book voraciously,
but somehow my Tsundoku increases simultaneously. Then I go off reading for a
while and, when I come back on, I ignore my Tsundoku and start reading
entirely different books instead. Just as there are Steam games I'll
eventually play and games I've bought but will probably never play, I have
Tsundoku that have been around for a very long time and will probably remain
as such forevermore. It almost seems like we need a word to describe books
that, at one point, seemed like a good idea to buy but which we'll never
realistically get around to reading.

I'd also like a word for books that I just can't get through, for no good
reason. I think I've started reading Hemingway's "For Whom the Bell Tolls"
half a dozen times but this book inevitably puts me off reading for a while.

~~~
Symbiote
Moving to a different country prompted me to sort through my tsundoku.

Unfortunately, I only removed about 5 books — ones I'd started, but didn't
like and wouldn't finish. I could probably use your new word there.

The rest fitted in a medium-sized box, so didn't seem worth agonizing about
when (a) the cost to add that to the shipment was marginal (b) I wasn't paying
anyway.

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brachi
I have a lot of 'abandoned' readings, but I always at least read the first
chapter, skim over it, and check for some summaries. I think it's good when
reading a non-fiction book to always skim over the whole book first and have a
clear goal/motivation. I don't read much fiction lately, but I assume lack of
time is the main factor, except some exceptional books that have the effect of
tv shows, where you can't wait to read what happens next and suddenly you find
the time at the expense of other activities, e.g. reading until 3 am.

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fit2rule
So .. enlighten me, Japanese-speakers .. would the word for "Apps I bought
from the App Store but never use" be something like .. "Tsunappu" .. or,
something? Because I have, literally, hundreds of those ..

~~~
jamesoneill
Yeah, it would probably "Tsumiappuri" (積みアップリ).

~~~
fit2rule
Thanks for that .. I guess I've got a name for it now.

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Walkman
Word for online courses you bought but never learned?

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kazinator
The curators of public libraries, at least, should learn better than to
accumulate 800 page treatises on HTML, CSS and Java.

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Havoc
aka steam library

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hoare
once again im impressed by the expressiveness of the japanese language:) Since
i have almost all my books at my kindle at least i dont have to dust them
regulary:D

~~~
mikekchar
Japanese is a really nice language. The grammar for plain speech is so
consistent that I'm always tempted to try to write it down in BNF. The other
nice thing about it is that it is economical. A noun by itself is a
grammatically correct sentence. Copula and verbs are optional. Any sentence
ending in a verb (or copula, as long as you change "da" to "na") can be used
to modify a noun. It makes it so simple to say complex things. Finally, things
that you would use tone of voice for in English can be expressed with
particles at the end of the sentence. This allows you to be really expressive
in Japanese.

If anyone is interested in learning Japanese, I have some advice:

\- Do not learn polite forms until you master plain forms. Japanese is built
on plain forms and polite forms are an extension of that. If you learn polite
forms first, you are going to get wildly confused because everything you
assume about the grammar will be wrong. People think they must learn polite
forms in order to get along. Just do what all my Japanese high school students
did: add "desu" to the end of all your sentences ;-). It is totally wrong and
you will sound like an uneducated, hillbilly moron, but people will appreciate
your effort ;-)

\- Read
[http://www.guidetojapanese.org/learn/grammar](http://www.guidetojapanese.org/learn/grammar)
I don't think there is a better grammar guide out there. Memorize all the
example sentences (if you use flash cards or Anki, then drill from English to
Japanese only).

\- Learn hiragana and kanji (hiragana first). Pick up katakana over time (it's
not really very important). Hiragana and katakana are phonetic alphabets. Once
you know hiragana you can read children's books with "furigana" (the
pronunciation of kanji is written beside the kanji in hiragana). Kanji are the
chinese characters.

\- Do not avoid learning kanji. One thing that I discovered as I was learning
Japanese is that I could learn vocabulary along with the kanji faster than I
could learn the vocabulary alone. Kanji is a fantastic mnemonic and is
constructed in a comprehensible way. "Remembering the kanji" by James Heisig
is a great technique for learning kanji. I don't like his choice of keywords,
though (some are arguably just wrong). I recommend reading the first section
of the book and then deriving your own keywords. As it turns out, the
publisher of the book offers the first section as a free PDF download:
[http://nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/en/files/2012/12/RK-1-6th-
edition...](http://nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/en/files/2012/12/RK-1-6th-edition-
sample.pdf)

\- Read manga as a way to learn conversational Japanese. Probably this is the
best thing I ever did. Yes there are characters with weird expressions (datte
ba yo!) or incredibly impolite expressions (ending every sentence with
yagaru), but I _really_ doubt you will fail to pick those up ;-) Obviously
don't use them in real conversations if you don't want to shock people.
Generally speaking the expressions -- and especially the contractions -- are
the way normal people speak in Japan. You won't get this in a text book.

\- Don't read textbooks (except for Tae Kim's, linked above).

\- For introductory vocabulary, the JLPT vocabulary lists up to and including
N3 are excellent. Don't bother past there because it is loaded down with
vocabulary that you are unlikely to use, at the expense of vocabulary that you
will definitely need in every day conversations. After you memorize N3
vocabulary, just get all your vocabulary from normal reading. By all means, if
you just enjoy memorizing vocabulary lists, feel free to do N2 and N1
vocabulary lists -- it won't hurt you. I just think that it is an inefficient
use of time.

Hope that helps anyone who is getting started ;-)

~~~
matthewbadeau
I hate commenting on the internet, especially since it's going to go against
almost every idea that the original commenter posted. That aside, here is my
advice for studying Japanese. This is purely my opinion and one method that
I've been using.

\- Try to evaluate where you want to 'end up' with your fluency. If you want a
full time job in a business environment then I highly recommend learning
polite forms of verbs first. The more that your practice this form, the more
comfortable it'll be to use. If you want to talk casually to friends and
family, then learning just the plain form is ok. If you want the slow, long,
methodical approach to learning Japanese and achieve a much greater fluency,
learn the plain form _and_ the negative form at the same time along with the
polite form. I highly advise against using the plain form with people you've
met for the first time or are dealing with in a business setting. It's very
off-putting since it feels like you're talking like a child. I recommend
learning the plain form and the negative form at the same time because of the
structure of Japanese verbs. Learning both of these forms at the same time
will give you an immediate hint as to how all of the other verb inflections
should appear. This will become apparent when you're learning conditional,
potential, volition and passive verbs.

\- Tae Kim's guide is good for understanding many concepts quickly but the
website I prefer the most is Imabi.net[1]. It contains more content and is
constantly being updated and edited to improve its content.

\- Learning katakana right after hiragana is vital if you want to live in
Japan. Also, try to associate only the sound with the character, not a
mnemonic. Use that time to focus on your pronunciation. Many borrowed words
from other languages use katakana and learning katakana at the beginning will
help you remember those words faster. For example, a common word used in
Japanese is トレーニング. It sounds awfully close to "training" and since it's in
katakana, it gives you a hint as to what the word might mean. While katakana
words are not 100% borrowed words, it certainly appears to be above 80%.
Related to this, do not learn romaji as a way of writing characters.

\- I agree, do not avoid learning kanji. Always learn kanji with vocabulary. I
don't recommend Heisig's book if you're taking the long, methodical approach I
mentioned earlier. It includes a lot of mnemonics that I don't think actually
contribute to the actual kanji's reading. Plus, if you _do_ go through the
entire series, then you'll still be behind in your kanji learning. There are a
lot of words that you still don't know the meaning to! For example, 八百屋 and 海老
don't mean 800 shops and ocean's old. They mean produce market and shrimp
respectively. My recommendation is to learn vocabulary and the kanji readings
for that vocabulary.

\- I don't read manga, personally, but another way to learn conversational
Japanese is by watching television shows and mimicking them! (On the other
hand, I don't recommend mimicking anime.) If you like manga, then go for it!
Just go for your favourite entertainment medium. If you're learning
conversational Japanese, then try to find a serious language partner. Find
someone who is a native Japanese speaker trying to learn your native language.
Allocate 1 hour or a half hour to go over Japanese and another equal block of
time in your native language. Native English speakers will have the easiest
time searching for a language partner but don't give up if your native
language isn't English.

\- Textbooks are good for certain circumstances. I believe textbooks are good
for the long, slow methodical approach. It keeps you focused and gives you
goals to work towards. If you don't like textbooks, then pick up a non-fiction
book and try reading! It'll force you to pause, give thought to the meaning of
the sentence and look up words/grammar. The non-fiction book method will
probably take longer than a textbook though, especially if you're just
starting out. Fiction books will be extremely difficult because they will
sometimes make up words that won't appear in dictionaries.

\- I actually prefer large lists of vocabulary. I get the greatest benefit
from lists of nouns since I pick those up the fastest. As the original
commenter pointed out, this is definitely not for everyone. Reading books or
manga will give a more entertaining method for learning new words. It'll even
give you the more nuanced meaning of words. The right and wrong places to use
them, etc. Check out the Tatoeba[2] project as well for example sentences
using the words you're learning.

For any language you're learning, try to use the language as you're learning
it. Try to come up with new sentences based on what you've learned. Try to
talk to people using the new verbs you learned. Try using Lang-8[3] for
writing.

Japanese is really difficult because although I've been studying it for a year
and a half now, I still don't feel like I'm 'fluent'. I can give you examples
of things that I've been able to achieve using Japanese but I definitely
wouldn't call myself fluent. Using the CEFR, I would probably put myself
between B1 and B2 for certain circumstances and maybe between A2 and B1 for
other circumstances. Learning Japanese will take time, don't give up.

[1] [http://www.imabi.net/](http://www.imabi.net/)

[2] [http://tatoeba.org/](http://tatoeba.org/)

[3] [http://lang-8.com/](http://lang-8.com/)

~~~
mratzloff
For what it's worth, I studied Japanese for 3 years as part of a college minor
but never felt fluent. Television and movies are great learning tools, because
you learn the rhythm and cadence to Japanese, which is much faster than you
might expect if you only read it, and even faster than in conversation (as
conversation partners will consciously or subconsciously slow down to
accommodate you).

