Is it normal to keep buying books even when you have plenty?

[MsGreying]

People often ask me why I'm always buying more books. The truth is, I have a genetic condition where my body doesn't produce books on its own, so I have to supplement.

Not only is it normal, it's essential

Yes, theres a word to describe the phenomenon which is where you buy books and in reality are never going to get round to reading them. I have this affliction too

I have this condition too, we should start a support group 😂
Edited to add that I find regular visits the the library help manage the condition (I have the advantage of working in one).

This is my disease also. I literally cannot walk past the Tesco charity bookcase without having a rummage. My daughter despairs. I have shelves laden with (as yet) unread books. If I get an Amazon delivery, she says, "Is it a book?" 😅

Please count me in to the support group. It's been suggested that my house gives off '2nd hand bookshop vibes'

Entirely normal. I get really angsty if I have fewer than 5 unread books on my bedside table.

You sometimes have fewer than 5?
Amateur 🤣.
Very pleased on a book thread to see the correct use of 'fewer'

Every book is a gateway book

Only very briefly if I've somehow not noticed the pile being depleted. And I don't sleep well till it has been replenished!

Yes.

Plenty is obviously not the same as enough,

Normal in this house! DH rereads things when he runs out and running out doesn't seem to bother him. DD, ds2 and I have "tbr" stacks.

Are there extra points given if the books are covered in dust on the shelves?

Digital or paperback/hardback? I have an addiction to both with a stack of paperbacks on my bedside table and across all the rooms in my house. I also have so many on my Kindle, I don't know if I'll ever manage to get through them all but should I go on holiday, I will never run out of something to read! This is perfectly normal, acceptable behaviour.

Completely normal though in my case it’s less of a physical problem and more compulsive Kindle behaviour

The condition of buying books and letting them pile up without reading them is known as tsundoku.

Tsundoku (積ん読) is a Japanese term that originated in the late 19th century (Meiji era) as a slang phrase to describe the practice of accumulating reading materials without actually reading them.

Key Aspects of Tsundoku:

• Origin: The term combines tsunde (to stack things) and doku (to read), and is sometimes colloquially interpreted as "reading pile".
• Cultural Context: In Japan, it is often seen as a neutral or even positive, affectionate habit among book lovers, rather than a negative form of hoarding.
• Intent: Unlike "bibliomania" (which is the compulsive collecting of books for their value or rarity), tsundoku often involves a genuine intention to read the books "someday".
• Antilibrary: Author Nassim Nicholas Taleb coined the term "antilibrary" to describe this collection of unread books, arguing they serve as a valuable, humbling reminder of the limits of our own knowledge.

It is widely considered an "aspirational" habit—a collection of unread books acts as a "library of possibilities," providing comfort and the potential for future knowledge

Books are an essential element in my diet and calorie free, so a no brainer!! Supplements always needed 😆

My name is Likely Suspect and I am a Tsundokuer

'welcome to the group Likely Suspect'

I buy them at a rate that keeps the unread pile(s) at an emotionally manageable level. If there's too big a backlog it starts to become a bit depressing.

But that still allows me to buy a few each month. And of course plenty extra for birthday and Xmas gifts for friends and family.

My favourite authors appear to write faster than I read. Add the TV adaptions of some of their novels I now have unread books as well as unwatched episodes.

Oh god unwatched things stacking up on the 'watchlist'.

I only read on Kindle (not sorry) and have hundreds of unread books so for the last decade I've only allowed myself to buy a book if its 99 p. I still buy about 50 books a year even though I only read about 30.

But in buying all these books, we're all practicing the Japanese art of Tsondoku, so that must be worthwhile?

Oh yes the “I’ll read the book first” trap

I believe the Japanese name for this is Tsundoku.

It is an entirely normal and rational way of living. I have two "towers of good intentions", one in the living room and one on my bedside table.

I have this - but DH has a really severe case. When a book we own comes up on Kindle Daily or Monthly Deal for 99p, he will buy it and then put the physical book on the charity pile. This of course frees up space for another physical book.

We have 8 tall and 4 short Billy bookcases, several of them double stacked. I reckon our physical library is over 2,000 books and our combined Kindle library almost as much.

We both read a lot, but will never read them all.