Now that I’m officially out of the coursework and exam prep phase, I get to read for (academic) interest and dare I say, fun!

My five book “to read” pile.

I don’t buy or have a lot of stuff—an economic reality of being a grad student and hating clutter—but I do like having a lot of physical books. Over the years I’ve purchased books faster than I could read them and having a pile of unread books plague me with buyer’s remorse.

So I made a rule: I can have a maximum of five unread books at a time in my home.

The idea for this self-imposed rule came after going to a fascinating talk featuring author Minae Mizumura who recently published The Fall of Language in the Age of English. I wanted to buy this book, but then realized I had five other wonderful books I’ve wanted to read (and are probably more relevant to my research and interests).

They are:

• Coolie Woman: The Odyssey of Indenture
• This Changes Everything: Capitalism v. The Climate
• Biological Relatives: IVF, Stem Cells, and the Future of Kinship
• Bodies in Formation: An Ethnography of Anatomy and Surgery Education
• The Coral Heart: A Shopkeeper’s Journey

To help curb my impulse to buy books, I’ve started a “save for later” list. It’ll give me time to assess whether I really need another book on my already crowded shelves.

What does your reading pile look like?