The Japanese word for people who own more books than they can read
<p>Book lovers and hoarders – it’s a bad combination. At least, it was – but we’ve stumbled upon a Japanese word that makes us book hoarders feel a little less guilty.</p>
<p>The practice is so widespread that our friends in the Land of the Rising Sun have a little portmanteau to describe us – tsundoku, a combination of “tsunde” (“to stack things”), “oku” (“to leave for a while”) and doku (“to read”). All together, according to <a href="http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2015/08/unusual-words-for-book-lovers/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Oxford Dictionaries</span></strong></a>, it’s defined as, “the act of leaving a book unread after buying it, typically piling it up together with other such unread books.”</p>
<p>The word’s closest English relative would have to be “bibliomania”, a term coined in the 1800s to describe a fictional “neurosis” which causes sufferers to obsessively collect books. Sound familiar?</p>
<p>These are just two words we think deserve to enter the general lexicon, but as it turns out, there’s a whole lot more out there for us bookworms. Here are some of our favourites:</p>
<p><strong>1. Colophon</strong> – The word might not sound familiar, but what it describes will. A “colophon” is the emblem or imprint found on the title page or spine of the book used by publishers to help build loyalty to their brand.</p>
<p><strong>2. Biblotaph</strong> – A “biblotaph” is someone who buries their books – especially those the ones they admire – in order to protect them from “bibliolklepts” (book thieves).</p>
<p><strong>3. Princeps</strong> – A “princeps” is simply a first edition or first printing of a book. Princeps can be exceedingly valuable – something as recent as the first Harry Potter novel may be worth tens of thousands of dollars.</p>
<p><strong>4. Bibliognost</strong> – If a bookworm is someone who loves books, a bibliognost takes it one step further. Not only do they love books, but they seem to know everything about them.</p>
<p><strong>5. Librocubicultarist</strong> – Do you like to read in book? You’re a librocubicultarist. The word comes from the Latin “liber,” meaning “book,” and cubiculum, meaning “sleeping chamber”.</p>
<p><strong>6. Scripturient</strong> – This word has died out over the years, but it essentially means “author”. While the latter may be easier to day, “scripturient” sounds a lot fancier!</p>
<p>Are you guilty of “tsundoku”? How many unread books are still on your shelf? Let us know in the comment section below. </p>
