I wrote about Bookshelf Wealth early this year because it was considered a major design trend for 2024. Simply put, Bookshelf Wealth is using books as decor, even if it is just to hopefully let your guests think that you are an erudite person who loves learning and intellectual pursuits. In fact, some people buy books for this purpose alone. But of course, it is better to strive for personal authenticity. Life is complicated enough as it is without masks and pretensions.
Book Collection and Tsundoku
“Tsundoku dates from the Meiji era, and derives from a combination of tsunde-oku (to let things pile up) and dokusho (to read books). It can also refer to the stacks themselves. Crucially, it doesn’t carry a pejorative connotation, being more akin to bookworm than irredeemable slob,” according to Antoine Wilson.
BBC defines tsundoku as “the art of buying books and never reading them.”
There are many words concerning books and book collection. There’s bibliomania, which is an obsessive-compulsive desire to collect large quantities of books without any concern for content. A bibliophile, on the other hand, is a bookworm who loves to collect and read books. A librocubicularist is a person who reads only in bed.
Remember Belle’s joy when Beast gifted her the castle library as a token of his affection? I think that the new digital forms available now for “reading” are a huge challenge for the brick-and-mortar bookstores. Just look at our own bookstores in the country and you’d know what I mean. One is becoming more of an office supply store while the other is closing down branches or cutting square meter space of existing locations. I fear for their demise, and I certainly hope I am wrong because there is something magical about holding a book in your hand, turning the page, feeling its weight, and reading the words using your own voice (whether aloud or in your head).
I’m not saying that reading a book is better than listening to audio books. Sometimes, ebooks are useful, like when your eyes are tired or when you want to multitask (listening to the story while doing house chores, for example). What better way than to have someone tell the riveting story. For me personally, the narrator must have a beautiful voice!
Satire about Buying Books
Comedian Sami made this satire about a bookstore that tracks people to see if they read the books that they bought. For those that just want to use the books as decor or don’t intend to read the books, you’d need to pay the much higher “illiterate” price. Which brings me back to what I said about being authentic.
Reading in Bed
Reading in bed could be a relaxing ritual. I go for classics or philosophy books myself because they have the power to put me to sleep. No horror fiction. No crime novels. No suspense stories. But you do what you do. We all have our preferences.
Being a librocubicularist can be very cozy but only if you are not sharing the bedroom with anyone else. I remember my older sister telling me when we were kids to stop reading because the light was bothering her. Fair enough. If this happens to you, do turn off the light and do some Reiki exercises to help you relax and fall asleep.
As for your books, pile them if that appeals to you. Just find time to read them.
I love this poem by Julia Donaldson—
I opened a book and in I strode
Now nobody can find me.
I’ve left my chair, my house, my road,
My town and my world behind me.I’m wearing the cloak, I’ve slipped on the ring,
I’ve swallowed the magic potion.
I’ve fought with a dragon, dined with a king
And dived in a bottomless ocean.I opened a book and made some friends.
I shared their tears and laughter
And followed their road with its bumps and bends
To the happily ever after.I finished my book and out I came.
The cloak can no longer hide me.
My chair and my house are just the same,
But I have a book inside me.
Surround yourself with books. Go with the Bookwealth Shelf design and give your books pride of place around your home. But go for real, for real! Have all those books end up inside you.
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