Perhaps being satisfied just by buying books is not a bad thing.

I like mystery novels.

I also like Osamu Dazai, Yukio Mishima, business books, and documentaries, so I often end up staying in bookstores for a long time.

"Oh, this book looks interesting," or "This might be what I need right now."

I have many books at home that I bought with those thoughts in mind. But to be honest, I haven't read all of them. Books I bought but haven't read are lined up on my bookshelf. It's what you call 'tsundoku' (stockpiling unread books).

Every time I see those books, I sometimes feel a little guilty, thinking, "I still haven't read them." Even though I went to the trouble of buying them. Even though I intended to read them.

But actually, it seems that stockpiling unread books is not all bad.

When you buy a book, you have already received a reward

Try to remember the moment you bought a book. Don't you feel a little excited the moment you finish at the register and hold the book in your hand?

"What will I be able to learn from this book?" "Maybe there's a hint for my current problems in here."

Research shows that the human brain reacts not only when it receives a reward, but also when it anticipates one. The satisfaction you feel when buying a book is not just your imagination. Your brain is anticipating and valuing the knowledge and experiences you will gain through that book.

So, there is a real reason for the sense of exhilaration you feel the moment you buy a book.

Of course, this doesn't mean you don't have to read them. However, you don't need to blame yourself for being satisfied just by buying a book, calling yourself "weak-willed" or saying "I failed again."

That excitement can be said to be proof that your desire to learn and your curiosity are still alive.

Stockpiling unread books might be proof that your "desire to learn" has not disappeared

The word 'tsundoku' has a somewhat negative ring to it. You bought it but didn't read it, you stopped halfway through, it's just sitting on the shelf.

But if you change your perspective, stockpiling books has another meaning. It means "there are still things I want to know."

If you had no interest in learning, you wouldn't buy books in the first place. You wouldn't stop at a bookstore. You wouldn't care about new releases. The fact that you still pick up a book and bring it home means that your intellectual curiosity is still there somewhere.

The author Nassim Nicholas Taleb introduces the idea that unread books are more valuable than the books you have already read. It is a concept called an "antilibrary."

If books you have finished reading represent past knowledge, then stockpiled books represent future possibilities as well.

Not being able to read them is not because you are weak-willed

So, why does the pile of unread books keep growing?

One reason might not be that you don't want to read, but rather that you have no mental energy left to read.

By the time we finish work, our brains have processed a vast amount of information. Meetings, emails, chats, making judgments, being considerate, and the accumulation of small decisions—a typical day for an office worker uses more brainpower than we realize.

When you get home in that state and think, 'Okay, I'll read a book,' you find it hard to turn the pages. On the other hand, you can look at your smartphone. You can check social media. You can watch videos. This can lead to blaming yourself, thinking, 'I have the energy to look at my phone, but I can't read a book.'

But reading a book actually takes a surprising amount of energy. Understanding the text, remembering the content, connecting the flow of ideas, imagining—it often requires more focus than a smartphone.

So, not being able to read doesn't mean you've grown to dislike books or that your willpower has weakened.

I feel that it's a bit easier on the mind if you can just think, 'I used that much brainpower today.'

You don't have to read a book from cover to cover

If you feel a little guilty about your pile of unread books, one option is to change how you interact with them.

We tend to think that books are meant to be read from start to finish. But in reality, there is no need to finish every book.

Read only the chapters that interest you. Just look at the table of contents. Read only the preface.

That way of reading is perfectly fine. Research shows that the lower the hurdle to starting an action, the easier it is to continue. Trying to read 300 pages all at once feels heavy. But 'I'll just look at the table of contents for now' makes it feel a little easier.

On your bookshelf, there may be books that you don't need right now but will be useful in six months or a year. Some people may have had the experience of not being able to read a book when they bought it, only to have the content suddenly resonate with them later on.

A book doesn't lose its value just because it hasn't been read through. Having it in a place where you can open it when you need it—perhaps that alone has meaning.

In conclusion

I look at my bookshelf. There are books I've read. There are books I've read halfway through. There are books I haven't even opened yet.

Every time I looked at those books, I used to think, 'I haven't read those either.'

But recently, my perspective has changed a little. They might not be evidence of failure, but rather like letters to my future self.

The unread books lined up on the shelf are also proof that the desire to 'still want to know' and 'still want to learn' remains. It's okay if you can't read them yet. It's okay if you don't need them right now.

A book you thought you had finished with just by buying it might end up changing your life a few years later.

So, having a backlog of unread books might not necessarily be laziness.It is a small investment in your future self. An entrance to a world you do not yet know. It is a footprint left by your curiosity.

If you feel a little guilty today looking at books you haven't read, try opening just the table of contents. There is surely a way to start reading from there.

* Related article
One reason why book backlogs grow might be that you "want to read but cannot."

Previously, I wrote a paid article titled "3 Brain Recovery Reading Methods for People Who Lack the Energy to Read."
You haven't come to hate books, yet for some reason, you cannot read them.
For such people, I have summarized how to engage with reading from the perspective of brain fatigue.

#Reading #BookBacklog #BookLover #OfficeWorker #BrainFatigue #SelfGrowth #Learning #IntellectualCuriosity #HabitFormation #MentalCare