December: Reading from our piles
Tsundoku beats list culture
Dear readers,
Has your heart skipped a beat yet this week, caught by a moment of unexpected recognition?
Look at this work of art by
of :
In a moment, the light will wake her. She’ll move back into the world, a bit different than she was before even if no one around her perceives the change. But right now? Just look at those piles. She’s finished. She has surrendered.
Head thrown back, arms akimbo. Kind of how I feel browsing all the end-of-year book lists.
It’s my literal job to provide a local platform for authors of this year’s most exciting books. I should see these lists and think “that’s dinner, baby.” So why do I feel like the woman in the golden dress right now?
Though I knew when I started this job that it would not involve getting paid to sit around reading books all day, of course a little part of me hoped that it would. Reading is a me-time thing and my to-do list is a novel of its own. So while I’ve read of most of the books on the big lists, when I pretend I might actually make a dent in any of them…
Let me just lie my head back on this sofa for a minute.
NYT’s 100 Notable Books of 2024 (gift link): I’ve read 8. Time’s 100 Must-Read Books of 2024: I’ve read 15. And the phrase “must-read” makes me want to sue somebody. False advertising of literary obligations. Unreasonable cognitive load. Unlawful imposition of the illusion of eternity.
Every month of 2024, I’ve created a themed list of books I want to read, hoping some of you will want to read them, too. Throughout the year, I’ve highlighted hidden gems I think are deserving of wider readership, and I’ve occasionally read new books just for fun and thrills, not really caring if they’re the best books of the year. When I’ve had something to say, I’ve enjoyed discussing the books everyone’s raving about. Give or take a few, I’ve mostly stayed true to my monthly plans.
But reading as though books have an expiration date can turn a feast into a fast. Most of the best I read this year had 10, 20, 40 or 50-ish years of readership before I caught up with them. Though maybe not yet classics, they have lingered in my curiosity and the collective imagination long after the official book media has moved on. They’re books collected at random, while practicing what the internet tells me the Japanese call tsundoku: the habit of buying books and piling them up to read later.
I have the good fortune to be surrounded by such piles right now. In fact, I have a nearly full shelf of books I bought in recent end-of-year frenzies brought on by big lists past. Enough.
In this month of must-reads, I’m imposing an injunction: an anti-list of books nobody has to read. Including me.
In lieu of a list, here’s a sample of my shelf of unfinished business. Whatever I read in December will come from my piles, according to my mood only.
As the year winds down and the final book lists roll in, I’m opting out of the "must-reads" and leaning into the "whenever-I-get-to-its." The books I haven't read yet? They’re not going anywhere. No pressure to move on them before the clock strikes midnight.
This December is about books that have been hanging around, waiting for their turn. Reading what feels right when it feels right.
I’ve got a few guest posts queuing up this month from other readers and writers I think you’ll enjoy meeting. Since I’m not sure how much or what I’ll read, I don’t have any specific plans to write reviews this month either. In the meantime, I’ve taken the paywall off my archives so feel free to browse my site for anything you might have missed.
I hope you’ll please stick around on my list for a few weeks with a different cadance to see how it goes.
In the meantime, I’ll respond to every comment on this post. Pop in and let’s discuss:
How are you feeling about the big lists?
What’s in your tsundoku?
Should I bring back the themed lists in the new year?
If you’d like a year of book recommendations for yourself or someone you love, it’s a good time to take out an annual subscription. All 2024 proceeds donated to causes pushing back against book bans.
For a very personal take on the big list, check out this slow burn from the artist whose work covers this post.
Catch you soon,
Abra
I dig the tsundoku shtick. It’s part of nest-building for me, a creative and nurturing space at home. It’s a bit like having a well stocked larder with all the things I need to cook with.
I think sometimes one falls into the trap of seeing the TBR pile as more of a problem (although the problem is with our finitude) than a gift, so I’m quite into moving myself out of the TBR pile as problem whenever it looks that way.
Oliver Burkeman talks about reading being like a stream one can dip into.
So, as part of my own tsundoku I’ll aim to have a look at North Woods by Daniel Mason, Lore Segal’s Ladies Lunch, and - as ever - some Henry James.
I love the concept of tsundoku, the big lists don't do much beyond rile me up these days. I don't feel FOMO but rather annoyance that they leave off books I think deserve to be there haha currently in my piles: finishing Parable of the Sower and James, read My Friends, maybe starting Promise, read 1-3 holiday reads to give my brain a break.