So many books, so little time..

I just learned a new - to me - Japanese word from here (via Bibliobibulli) which is "tsundoku", meaning the practice of buying books and leaving them unread, or "to pile up books with the intention of reading them" (and/or, simply a bookworm or bibliophile ..).

Guilty as charged, but then I suppose most booklovers are subject to the occasional booksplurge, when they acquire more books than they can possibly read immediately. After receiving several book tokens, at the moment I must have about 30 books waiting to be read - a few of which I have had for some years, waiting to be "in the mood" for them. And now I have acquired a Kindle, of course I have been busily downloading more so the problem can only get worse - but at least without taking up quite so much space. Although it seems "e-tsundoku" has already been coined for piling up e-books.

Unfortunately my procrastination goes beyond literary matters, I'm equally guilty of buying gadgets I don't use - including a Sony e-reader loaded with 100 classic books I thought I might one day get around to (re-)reading - downloading podcasts I will never have time to listen to, and piling up recipes I will probably never get round to making.

I'm not sure whether it's the mentality of "saving for a rainy day", or of having eyes bigger than my belly, as they say in French: or as my mother used to recite, "A wonderful bird is the pelican: its beak can hold more than its belly can.": i.e. sheer greed.

Well, my book-beak is full. And yet, where will I be headed this afternoon on the way to a coffee appointment in town (Kindle in pocket)? Is it my fault that virtually the only shops open on Sunday in the city centre are the 2 English bookshops?!