Tsundoku: the practice of buying a lot of books and keeping them in a pile because you intend to read them but have not done so yet; also used to refer to the pile itself
In all the places I have lived, from little dorm apartments to my childhood home, I’ve accumulated a small stack of books that slowly grows. Being a college student, I move quite often. My books are typically the hardest to pack, and I am always looking for new ways to transport them. When my family came to visit me during my study abroad, I handed them each a book on their last day to put in their backpack to take home for me in an attempt to distribute the load. My brother—who barely reads a book a year—not understanding the task at hand, confusedly looked at Euripides’ The Bacchae and Other Plays in his hand and said,
“Oh, thank you?”
“No. It’s not for you. Put it on my shelf when you get home.”
Despite the difficulty of carting these books around with me (not to mention the physical toll it takes on my back), book collecting is a hobby I will never give up. These books are a connection to the world around me, the people in my life, and my inner self. In the timeline of my life, books are the colored markers indicating formative learning experiences. Reading is a new love for me in many ways, and books have been my greatest love of my life these past five years.
I read The Bell Jar when I was awaiting college decisions, hoping my plan to move to NYC would follow through. I lost myself in the pages of Robin Hobb’s The Farseer Trilogy when I was trapped in mind-numbing suburbia during summer breaks. I devoured Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale in between the 2024 presidential debates, finding more similarity between Atwood’s world and my own than I care to admit. I read and studied Kazuo Ishiguro’s tandem novels Never Let Me Go and Klara and the Sun when I was changing my major in college, contemplating my identity alongside his main characters’ own uncertainties.
All these books are ones that adorn my shelves today, relics of the person I was when I read them. Not only can I remember who I was, the state of my life and the world, but I remember where and when I came to acquire each book on my shelf. Each book holds a story beyond the story written on its pages. Whether it was a gift for a birthday or taken from a pile in the student lounge at my university, that secondary story begins the moment the book becomes mine. To have these books line my shelves is to have thousands of stories within stories all over my room. To own them is to not only treasure the work of every bookbinder, author, and intern on the marketing team, but it is also to treasure myself and the stories I contribute to the world.
Reading all the books I own is a goal I will never reach. It is running after a constantly moving finish line in a race I have no intention of completing. To cut myself off from owning any more books would be to cut off my lifeline to the world. Like being forced to wear a school uniform, it would strip me of my identity. I will always try to read the books I own. I will always purchase second-hand books, utilize my public library, and take breaks from buying new books as well. Even so, I will never stop collecting books from the new cities I visit all over the world or from the local bookshop around the corner from my apartment.
My family calls it an obsession, as they watch me shove new paperbacks in overfilled shelves. Everyone has their own outlets for expression and items they collect. No one questions if someone uses all the novelty salt and pepper shakers in their souvenir collection. Yours might be cute trinkets, but mine are books. Books make me happy, and they are a joy I will schlep around to the end of my days.
Sara Hecht
Alpha Chi Omega Chapter, Secretary
Fordham University, Bronx, NY
Sigma Tau Delta
Sigma Tau Delta, International English Honor Society, was founded in 1924 at Dakota Wesleyan University. The Society strives to
- Confer distinction for high achievement in English language and literature in undergraduate, graduate, and professional studies;
- Provide, through its local chapters, cultural stimulation on college campuses and promote interest in literature and the English language in surrounding communities;
- Foster all aspects of the discipline of English, including literature, language, and writing;
- Promote exemplary character and good fellowship among its members;
- Exhibit high standards of academic excellence; and
- Serve society by fostering literacy.
With over 900 active chapters located in the United States and abroad, there are more than 1,000 Faculty Advisors, and approximately 9,000 members inducted annually.
Sigma Tau Delta also recognizes the accomplishments of professional writers who have contributed to the fields of language and literature.
