The Tower of Tsundoku

To-Be-Read Piles are older than we think

Turns out my mountain of “I’ll get to it soon” books, films, and games has a name: tsundoku. Proof that the pile predates Steam wishlists, $1 bin paperbacks, and maybe—just maybe—is holier than I thought.

The Rise of the TBR Pile

Tsundoku (積ん読) stacks up tsumu (“to pile”) + doku (“to read”). Back in 1879, Meiji-era Japan was already poking fun at book hoarders.

We’ve only gotten worse. I’ve seen whole niches on TikTok focused on clearing through the TBR pile. They’ve spilled beyond shelves and into digital registries. Mine now lives in three cozy apps that help me stop feeling guilty and start feeling curated:

• StoryGraph: Mood charts, reading streaks, confetti—not Amazon’s data farm.

• Letterboxd: A watchlist that tracks my “I’ll get to it” films—and gives friends a front-row seat to roast me.

• Backloggd: My digital JRPG graveyard, complete with pie charts, reviews, and a reminder that finishing isn’t the point—playing is.

Feels like Wesley’s “redeeming the time”—less guilt, more grace. These aren’t shame lists; they’re permission slips to savor one quest, one page, one scene at a time.

Challenge

Let’s turn solitary stacks into co-op campaigns:

🎮 Drop a book, game, or film you’ve been meaning to tackle in the comments below.

I’m NerdPastorNate on Backloggd, StoryGraph, and Letterboxd. Follow me, drop your handles, and let’s turn tsundoku into a shared pilgrimage.