Buying books and never reading them. A joke word, and a good one.

What a Japanese person actually thinks
Affectionate and funny. Everyone recognises it and most people are guilty of it. Reads as someone with a sense of humour about themselves, which is rare in a tattoo.

Meaning

Literally: pile up + read
Actually: The habit of accumulating unread books. A Meiji-era pun on 積んでおく ('to pile up and leave').

Scores

Naturalness●●●●●

Common word, universally understood.

Coolness●●●●●

Two clean characters, and the joke is genuinely good. Scores well precisely because it isn't trying to be profound.

Watch out

lowIt is a mildly self-deprecating joke, not a statement of literary devotion. Make sure that's the note you want.

On skin

積読

Orientation: either

Brush.