Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Fulcrum Publishing (1991), Edition: Later Printing, Paperback, 192 pages
Description
Have you ever ... Awakened, the morning after a book-buying spree, unable to remember how many books you bought or how much you spent? Been reprimanded or fired for reading on the job? Had to sit down with your family to discuss your book-buying and reading habits? You are not alone. Your complete recovery awaits you--just buy one more book!
User reviews
LibraryThing member elliepotten
A thoroughly enjoyable book that I would wholeheartedly recommend to each and every LT-er. It could have been written for us - or by us, for that matter!
In short, this is a comprehensive guide to biblioholism and all the various quirky traits and habits that go along with it. It is evident that
With a wealth of interesting and amusing examples of biblioholic behaviour, some sweet illustrations and a strong bibliography (like we needed to add any more to our TBR mountains!), this comes very highly recommended and is a firm keeper for me.
What wild desires, what restless torments seize
The hapless man, who feels the book-disease.
In short, this is a comprehensive guide to biblioholism and all the various quirky traits and habits that go along with it. It is evident that
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Raabe is 'one of us' and he drives right to the heart of our affliction with great humour and insight. Do you find yourself spending money on books that would otherwise have been spent on food? Getting rid of your possessions to fit in more books? Do you set yourself a book budget, or are you of the belief that if it's under £5 it's a bargain anyway? Do you have to sneak books in past your other half? What would your fantasy bookshop be like? Do you read in restaurants, in bed, on the train? Do you lend your books or guard them protectively? On top of discussions of all these topics and more, Raabe includes an amusing alternative history of the book, a look at book narcissism (don't pretend you haven't succumbed on occasion) and a section on the extremes of bookish behaviour - eating books, stealing them, destroying them.With a wealth of interesting and amusing examples of biblioholic behaviour, some sweet illustrations and a strong bibliography (like we needed to add any more to our TBR mountains!), this comes very highly recommended and is a firm keeper for me.
What wild desires, what restless torments seize
The hapless man, who feels the book-disease.
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LibraryThing member womansheart
I sometimes really enjoy books about books. However, this one did not hit the mark for me. I found myself, un-inerested and un-amused and I don't think that I added a single book to my wishlist.
Don't recommend this one, although the intent is there and the research is adequate it's just not
Hmmmn. Just boring.
Don't recommend this one, although the intent is there and the research is adequate it's just not
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good.Hmmmn. Just boring.
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LibraryThing member generalkala
What a strange book.
Theoretically, the book is a series of articles detailing how to deal with a maddening disease known as biblioholism - the loving of books. This involves numerous chapters listing symptoms of the disease, a quiz for diagnosis, etc. But then this seems to go out the window
The book is full of repetition - Raabe mentions the same concepts in every article. Furthermore, each is set out differently. Some have wide margins, others have borders, others have dated illustrations. I realise this is picky, but it annoys me nevertheless.
I would have enjoyed it more if the author hadn't sounded quite so pretentious. It reads as though he wanted to prove he was well read, so name-dropped as many classical authors and used as many long words as possible in every sentence.
I read somewhere that this was originally a series of articles that Raabe expanded drastically to form a book - You can tell.
Theoretically, the book is a series of articles detailing how to deal with a maddening disease known as biblioholism - the loving of books. This involves numerous chapters listing symptoms of the disease, a quiz for diagnosis, etc. But then this seems to go out the window
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halfway through the book, and it then morphs into a series of rambling articles that surely must have been inserted purely as filler. An example of this is a full chapter comprising of nothing but a list of bookish anecdotes about a Dr. Johnson, although it never explains who this man actually was.The book is full of repetition - Raabe mentions the same concepts in every article. Furthermore, each is set out differently. Some have wide margins, others have borders, others have dated illustrations. I realise this is picky, but it annoys me nevertheless.
I would have enjoyed it more if the author hadn't sounded quite so pretentious. It reads as though he wanted to prove he was well read, so name-dropped as many classical authors and used as many long words as possible in every sentence.
I read somewhere that this was originally a series of articles that Raabe expanded drastically to form a book - You can tell.
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LibraryThing member Marse
An amusing trifle about book lovers of all sorts. Easily read and easily forgotten. It categorizes different book lovers from collectors to hoarders and everything in between. The best parts are the little anecdotes about famous and infamous collectors and their libraries. Something to read while
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waiting in short lines. Show Less
LibraryThing member KathyWoodall
Most bibliophiles, like myself, can relate to pretty much everything written in this book. How many times have each one of us walked into a bookstore to either buy one specific book or maybe just to kill a few minutes of time and come out of the store 2 hours or more later?
In the first chater
I really enjoyed reading this humorous look at my "addiction". I can't say it will change my book buying ways but it was kinda nice to know there are others out there that are just as bad if not worse then me.
In the first chater
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"Cibfessuibs if a Biblioholic" had me laughing out loud!. The author describes how he finally realized he had a problem when he found several volume sets (hardback) of Charles Dickens in his apartment.I really enjoyed reading this humorous look at my "addiction". I can't say it will change my book buying ways but it was kinda nice to know there are others out there that are just as bad if not worse then me.
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LibraryThing member glade1
What a fun book! I definitely have most of the symptoms described, and it is comforting to read this and recognize myself, knowing that there are enough people like me to support publication of this book!
I think this is the first edition of the book and that it has been updated subsequently. Some
I have promised to send this book to another BookCrossing member, but I may actually add it back to my wish list so I can get a permanent collection copy, and perhaps the updated edition... I think I might like to return to this one, or be able to show it to friends and family so they can recognize my disease ;)
I think this is the first edition of the book and that it has been updated subsequently. Some
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of it is a bit dated (I laughed out loud at his supposedly tongue-in-cheek predictions of books to come in the 1990s, which included Dave Barry Turns 50 and which Barry did indeed publish).I have promised to send this book to another BookCrossing member, but I may actually add it back to my wish list so I can get a permanent collection copy, and perhaps the updated edition... I think I might like to return to this one, or be able to show it to friends and family so they can recognize my disease ;)
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LibraryThing member librisalexandria
And I thought I was the only one! I could relate so much to what he says about book addiction. I laughed from beginning to end because it reads like an AA pep talk. Thank God that although "biblioholism" is another facet of obsessive-compulsive behavior, at least it is harmless. Hey, whoever is
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completely sane out there, let him throw the first stone! Show Less
LibraryThing member TheoSmit
Hilarious and painfully true.
LibraryThing member Ann_Louise
A funny book that does strike close to home. From the many reasons(excuses) to buy - "But honey, I don't have this version - it was a bargain book - they're almost paying me to buy it " to how many different ways books can be stacked/shelved to make room for more books .
LibraryThing member cathyskye
Originally an article in a newspaper, Raabe was persuaded to expand it to
book length. I think it would've been best to leave it alone. Tales of
people crazy over books--even delving into strange diseases such as people
who like to eat books--Biblioholism was very uneven. Raabe focused on the
extremes,
this book is because I never really saw myself in it--and I'd be the first
person to say that I go overboard with books. Still, it was a pleasant way
to spend an hour or two in an afternoon.
book length. I think it would've been best to leave it alone. Tales of
people crazy over books--even delving into strange diseases such as people
who like to eat books--Biblioholism was very uneven. Raabe focused on the
extremes,
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and I think one reason why it was difficult for me to warm up tothis book is because I never really saw myself in it--and I'd be the first
person to say that I go overboard with books. Still, it was a pleasant way
to spend an hour or two in an afternoon.
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LibraryThing member Rubbah
Scarily accurate depiction of book addiction.
LibraryThing member trav
This book is ok. Lots of illustrations that many of us here on LT could relate to and tries to be clever, in regards to book collectors. But it's nothing stellar.
Certainly one you want to add if you collect "books on books".
But I didn't find any merit beyond that.
It either needed to be more funny
Certainly one you want to add if you collect "books on books".
But I didn't find any merit beyond that.
It either needed to be more funny
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or more scholarly, as it missed both these marks with me. Show Less
LibraryThing member polywogg
PLOT OR PREMISE:
A mixed-tone argument that you can be "addicted" to reading and owning books, with some examples of book hoarders from years-gone-by.
.
WHAT I LIKED:
There are some really good ""humour"" lists, kind of like a Letterman top ten list for:
- Moving when you have a lot of books;
- A
- The snobbish Discovery Index (I knew the author when..);
- Reading in restaurants;
- Latin explanations of literary taste: ""De gustibus non est disputandum"" -- Everyone to their own non-disputable tastes; and,
- Ten Commandments for the Book Handler.
.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
The author can't seem to decide what the book is -- a light-hearted, tongue-in-cheek ode to book hoarders everywhere or a serious tome about an actual mental illness. The book starts out with a light-hearted look at those who feel an overwhelming urge to buy books i.e. "biblioholics". By the end, however, he treats it like a real mental illness that requires awareness and treatment. Either approach could work, but bouncing between one and the other wears out really fast. Perhaps this would have been better as a collection of small articles for a small newspaper, and even then, in dire need of an editor to give it better focus and less repetition. But even in a series of newspaper articles, I suspect the reader would tire of the subject matter very quickly -- the metaphor is dragged out far past its prime.
.
BOTTOM-LINE:
Well-researched, but yawn…
.
DISCLOSURE:
I received no compensation, not even a free copy, in exchange for this review. I am not personal friends with the author, nor do I follow him on social media.
A mixed-tone argument that you can be "addicted" to reading and owning books, with some examples of book hoarders from years-gone-by.
.
WHAT I LIKED:
There are some really good ""humour"" lists, kind of like a Letterman top ten list for:
- Moving when you have a lot of books;
- A
Show More
Biblioholic's test (how big is your problem);- The snobbish Discovery Index (I knew the author when..);
- Reading in restaurants;
- Latin explanations of literary taste: ""De gustibus non est disputandum"" -- Everyone to their own non-disputable tastes; and,
- Ten Commandments for the Book Handler.
.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
The author can't seem to decide what the book is -- a light-hearted, tongue-in-cheek ode to book hoarders everywhere or a serious tome about an actual mental illness. The book starts out with a light-hearted look at those who feel an overwhelming urge to buy books i.e. "biblioholics". By the end, however, he treats it like a real mental illness that requires awareness and treatment. Either approach could work, but bouncing between one and the other wears out really fast. Perhaps this would have been better as a collection of small articles for a small newspaper, and even then, in dire need of an editor to give it better focus and less repetition. But even in a series of newspaper articles, I suspect the reader would tire of the subject matter very quickly -- the metaphor is dragged out far past its prime.
.
BOTTOM-LINE:
Well-researched, but yawn…
.
DISCLOSURE:
I received no compensation, not even a free copy, in exchange for this review. I am not personal friends with the author, nor do I follow him on social media.
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LibraryThing member Harrod
Fun little read. I am happy with my addiction and love reading books ab books. This il do.
LibraryThing member pussreboots
I enjoyed the book; it was worth the wait. From his descriptions of the various types, I seem to be readaholic (I think most BookCrossers are) and I'm married to a Scholar (as you'll see from the HUGE number of text books listed on my shelf). BookCrossing and a much smaller family budget has cured
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me of buying loads of books and I have been fairly good about the reading and releasing. The remaining problem is the free books that have found their way into my collection (for releasing, of course) via Craigslist and Freecycle. Ooof. Show Less
LibraryThing member BooksOn23rd
BIBLIOHOLISM, by Tom Raabe, is a humorous look at those of us who are “addicted” to books. It contains chapters such as Anatomy Of An Addiction, Bibliomaniacs And Bibliophiles, We Are What We Buy, and Variants Of The Disease.
I was mostly amused during my reading of this book, seeing parts of me
If you are a fellow biblioholic you will enjoy this book.
I was mostly amused during my reading of this book, seeing parts of me
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described in print, but sometimes I actually learned something new. Mr. Raabe often uses words I needed to look up, so I have to give him credit for both entertaining and teaching me.If you are a fellow biblioholic you will enjoy this book.
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LibraryThing member LynnB
I enjoyed this book overall. It looks at the phenomenon of people being addicted to books: to buying them, owning them and/or reading them...not to mention burying or eating them. It is mostly funny in a "tongue in cheek" kind of way, but occasionally seems to be trying to be more serious. It was
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fun to read but not great. Show Less
LibraryThing member herschelian
I suspect that many other users of LibraryThing.com are fellow Biblioholics. This book is not brilliantly written but it touches a nerve with me, I could tick all the boxes that describe the symptoms of this ailment! I too suffer from this habitual longing to purchase, read, store, admire and
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consume books in excess. Show Less
LibraryThing member ritaer
diagnosis and treatment of print addiction. Getting a book about print addiction is like lighting a pipe to ponder your tobacco habit/
Subjects
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2001
Physical description
192 p.; 8.3 inches
ISBN
1555910807 / 9781555910808