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Biblioholism: The Literary Addiction
A hilarious guide for book lovers that brings book addiction out of the closet.
awakened, the morning after a book-buying spree, unable to remember how many you bought or how much you spent?
been reprimanded or fired for reading on the job?
purchased or rented additional living space... just for your books?
You are not alone. Your complete recovery awaits you -- just buy one more book!
Have you ever...
awakened, the morning after a book-buying spree, unable to remember how many you bought or how much you spent?
been reprimanded or fired for reading on the job?
purchased or rented additional living space... just for your books?
You are not alone. Your complete recovery awaits you -- just buy one more book!
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews
April 6, 2011
This was not what I expected. I expected a light-hearted perhaps even humorous look at reading. As someone who has spent most of my life in libraries, reading rooms, and bookstores, I did find a few things to relate to. I even found some humorous stories and lists. However, I doubt the author of this book has felt the highs and lows of reading that I have. There was none of the passion of searching jumbled, dusty piles and shelves of used books looking for authors and subjects that enthrall you. The explosion of joy at finding a long-sought title. For most of my life, it was books first and everything else only when it couldn't be avoided.
Instead he treated this like a disease. How many of you eat your books? The author of this book seems to be torn as how to approach this topic. This book has little to do with the love of reading. It has more to do with book buying and how much we spend on books. It doesn't understand the need to have yourself surrounded by beloved friends. For that is what books are.
Instead he treated this like a disease. How many of you eat your books? The author of this book seems to be torn as how to approach this topic. This book has little to do with the love of reading. It has more to do with book buying and how much we spend on books. It doesn't understand the need to have yourself surrounded by beloved friends. For that is what books are.
July 15, 2012
Hello, My name is Linda and I am a biblioholic.
October 17, 2016
If I was a biblioholic as defined by this book, this would be an impulse "buy." However, I saw this title on the library catalog, and thought it looked interesting. It's a cute little book with some humor and a little history mixed in. The reason I don't qualify as a biblioholic is that I don't buy a lot of books. Partly, I don't buy a lot of books is that I don't see spending money when I can get the book in a library. I can wait awhile when a new book is published to read it. And I really don't care to re-read books, no matter how much I enjoy them. When I do buy books it's because the library doesn't have it and often because it's out of print. And I have moved a lot during my entire life, even as a child. Then after I married, I moved over nine times--many of them long-distance moves. It's just too expensive the move books. A word about the newer trends in books which this book covers. I know there are people who say they only want to read a print book. But I enjoy ebooks, too. One thing is the ability to quickly learn the definition of words, another is the ready access to the Internet on my iPad that gives me maps, pictures of people and places. So maybe I'm a libraryaholic. Anyway I love books and reading and have since I was a young child. I owe that to my Grandmother who read to me and took me to library storytimes. I only regret that I didn't do as good a job with our children.
July 11, 2010
I found this to be a really terrible and amateurish accounting of book love. It's one merit was that it read incredibly quickly. Otherwise, its observations about being a biblioholic were, somehow, at once benign and unbelievable. Further, Raabe doesn't make good distinctions between book lovers who read and those that don't. He suggests a person is one or the other, without paying careful attention to the intricacies that exist in between. There isn't anything here that you can't find in Holbrook Jackson's Anatomy of Bibliomania, the difference being that while Jackson's book is difficult to slog through, it's also incredibly well researched and thoroughly presented and organized. This was the opposite: juvenile, unoriginal, and ultimately not worth the little time it took to read.
February 20, 2013
This book is worth the price for chapter four alone, in my humble opinion.
Really, it's one I have read the pages ragged with, in sheer appreciation for the topic and how it's handled. How does one fully explore the addiction many have to BOOKS?
Well, Tom Raabe gives it one of the best shots I've ever read, anyway.
I recommend it to any and all who love their books, who have packed them through several moves or stored them in one home forever. Anyone who knows the joy of just looking at a full bookshelf. Anyone who has experienced the "dessert or book?" question.
Anyone who has made their own library inside their home.
It's wonderful.
Really, it's one I have read the pages ragged with, in sheer appreciation for the topic and how it's handled. How does one fully explore the addiction many have to BOOKS?
Well, Tom Raabe gives it one of the best shots I've ever read, anyway.
I recommend it to any and all who love their books, who have packed them through several moves or stored them in one home forever. Anyone who knows the joy of just looking at a full bookshelf. Anyone who has experienced the "dessert or book?" question.
Anyone who has made their own library inside their home.
It's wonderful.
January 23, 2008
Eh. It was ok. No soul touching experiences as with Anne Fadiman or "A Passion for Books". The quiz was enjoyable and revealing but beyond that he was repetitive and redundant. His chapter on his dream bookstore was great. It inspired me to make my own book-topia.
April 22, 2010
I thought that I was alone in my book eccentricities! I am so glad to know that other people gaze upon their book collections with adoration and even greet them in the morning with a loving "Good morning friends!"
May 7, 2012
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 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.
March 9, 2008
I laughed and laughed & laughed, and it wasn't because the book was unrealistic, but for the opposite reason. I don't think I'm going to mention how I scored on the quizzes, though . . .
September 25, 2009
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 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.
I was mostly amused during my reading of this book, seeing parts of me 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.
December 23, 2021
Just a gimmicky book that overexaggerates everything about 'biblioholism'. It's meant to be funny, but I don't think I so much as chuckled once. I basically skimmed through most of it - kind of a waste of time to read this one, in my opinion.
April 24, 2010
A fun and whimsical read. If you don't have the disease, or live with someone who does it could be somewhat meaningless. I was happy to learn that Reading While Traveling has a long and starred history. I was able to tell my husband that taking 6-8 books on a 4 day trip was moderate. He seemed skeptical...
My favorite parts were the test at the beginning and the list of "individualized anathemas" for the would be biblioklept. For example:
In Joyce's Finnegan's Wake: "If you steal this book, may your mind be as jumbled and disjointed as this narrative."
and
In Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls: "If you steal this book, the earth will never move for you (wink, wink; nudge, nudge)."
ROFL
A couple of favorite words from the book: Biblionarcissism, Biblioklept and Bibliowebbies.
My favorite parts were the test at the beginning and the list of "individualized anathemas" for the would be biblioklept. For example:
In Joyce's Finnegan's Wake: "If you steal this book, may your mind be as jumbled and disjointed as this narrative."
and
In Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls: "If you steal this book, the earth will never move for you (wink, wink; nudge, nudge)."
ROFL
A couple of favorite words from the book: Biblionarcissism, Biblioklept and Bibliowebbies.
February 20, 2014
Honestly? This wasn't the book I was expecting. I was expecting something lighthearted about people who like to read. A lot. What I did find was a book about people who are honestly addicted to buying books. Not necessarily reading the books, mind you - just buying and reading some of them. It was a scary and hilarious book lol it had quirky anecdotes and lists, even a quiz. I related to some of it, but not all of it. And that was just fine. Don't pick up this book thinking that it's going to be one of those walks down memory lane (which is lined up with books). This is a book about individuals who are obsessed with books. Nothing less. Nothing more. And it is an extremely entertaining and quick read.
September 24, 2014
Raabe mixes gentle humor with serious scholarship as he examines all manner of book collectors and consumers (including literal consumption). Borrowers, lenders, collectors, and, yes, even readers take their turn under his microscope. He provides ample historical background to all manner and shades of addiction to the printed word and touches upon both literal and figurative bookworms.
If you think you might be hooked on books, don't come to Raabe for relief. He's a strict diagnostician. But then again, book junkies get better return on their habit than do most other addicts.
And writing this review reminds me—I need to get the new edition. More pages ... more words ... more ... more ... more ....
If you think you might be hooked on books, don't come to Raabe for relief. He's a strict diagnostician. But then again, book junkies get better return on their habit than do most other addicts.
And writing this review reminds me—I need to get the new edition. More pages ... more words ... more ... more ... more ....
March 23, 2011
I loved this book! I haven't read any other book like this one....I love any book that talks about people going through the same sorts of things that I am going through...especially when they do it in such a fun way like this book was done....
This book covers the history of the book (the timeline is so funny) and they different types of book disease, from burying your books to actually eating them!
I recommend this book for anyone that loves books! Anyone that is using this site, in fact...haha!
This book covers the history of the book (the timeline is so funny) and they different types of book disease, from burying your books to actually eating them!
I recommend this book for anyone that loves books! Anyone that is using this site, in fact...haha!
March 26, 2015
Nada satira dengan sorotan yang adakalanya lebih mirip pada hiperbola atau berlebih-lebihan, tetapi dapat berkongsi kecanduan pada buku baik sebagai pembaca, pembeli atau pemilik perpustakaan peribadi. Sesuai untuk bacaan santai dan menenangkan kerana apa lagi yang menyamankan bagi pembaca buku tekal atau tegar, kecuali buku yang berkongsi feel perangai khalayak yang persis sama.
February 11, 2016
This has been on my shelves since 2009 and I finally picked it up this week. Very funny, light reading that any bibliophile will appreciate. I noticed that the book pictured is actually a revised edition - I assume the revision includes ebooks, as they hadn't really arrived "on the scene" in 1991 when the original was published.
January 14, 2018
This was one of the first books on my to be read here on Goodreads, so I can say that I had this one on waiting since forever and it doesn't seem real that I finally read this one, yay! But I was expecting something more... it's not a bad reading, and it's a fast one, not too demanding and really fun in some parts. But I was hoping for more funny parts, and instead, I found some parts a little bit too much, like the author put too many efforts in them and the result wasn't light as expected.
Anyway... I found myself here and there in this book and it was quite interesting, even if it could have been more.
Anyway... I found myself here and there in this book and it was quite interesting, even if it could have been more.
July 23, 2018
This should have taken me even less days to read but in fortunately it wasn’t as humorous and light hearted as promised. The deliberate choice or outdated and difficult English words, the excessive number of References to forgotten ( I’m not even sure they existed in real life ) authors made it a chore to finish reading it.. I feel a little disappointed to be honest.. I rated it 3 starts because I learned some new words and there might have 2,3 entertaining moments that made me smile. Overall , this book requires patience .
July 16, 2021
I would rather read buzzfeed articles than endure this again.
March 28, 2021
Todos los lectores tenemos algo de esta enfermedad sin duda léanlo y se verán reflejados en el, datos interesantes de escritores y grandes bibliofilos.
August 28, 2019
Shares funny data about folks who get a bunch of books, how they handle them, store, and select. concludes with e-books. Mentions people that famously had a bunch of books.
March 14, 2020
I picked this up at a local used book sale; being the kind of person who brings a box to hold my purchases at said local used book sale, I thought I'd be able to relate. But no, the biblioholism he discusses doesn't refer to the type who buys a dozen books that looked interesting that they really thought they'd get around to reading by now, it's the type who buys multiple hardcover illustrated editions of the complete works of Charles Dickens and mentions that they probably picked up two copies of one book because there was a two for one sale on at the store. That -- that's not how two-for-one sales at bookstores work. You're expected to pick up two different books.
Also, my love of Terry Pratchett has left me with different expectations of footnotes. When mention is made of someone who destroyed most of the existing copies of one book to make the remaining copies appreciate in value and a footnote is indicated, I expect it to lead to some amusing description of how that turned out rather than just a note of where the story was referenced from. No explanation was given in the main text, either.
Also, my love of Terry Pratchett has left me with different expectations of footnotes. When mention is made of someone who destroyed most of the existing copies of one book to make the remaining copies appreciate in value and a footnote is indicated, I expect it to lead to some amusing description of how that turned out rather than just a note of where the story was referenced from. No explanation was given in the main text, either.
November 6, 2016
I have done all those things -- did not remember what I bought, how much I spent, and yes, I'm telling my deepest darkest secret: I once had a storage area to keep many many boxes of books. My house just could not hold them. I probably rented that space for several years before I finally broke down and donated them to the library. So I clearly understand everything this book gets into.
April 21, 2015
This book had its moments, but was neither as warm or as funny as I was hoping. It was a great compilation of quotes from and life stories of book lovers throughout history. But it didn't make enough of a connection for me to feel obligated to share it with the others in my book group.
October 25, 2015
This is a humorous book about people that are addicted to books. I liked how the author talked about the different types of biblioholics that are out there. There is even a quick quiz in the book to determine how bad of a biblioholic you are.
June 13, 2018
Very disappointed. There were a couple entertaining passages (the timeline was the best part of the book), but overall, the book was silly and padded with near nonsense.
April 6, 2022
This book couldn't have been better! It is for every booklover on earth! It's all having a book addiction. I do. "the habitual longing to purchase, read, store, admire and consume books in excess>".
Chapters include: "Confessions of a Biblioholic, Anatomy of an Addiction (Is Biblioholiolism: Weakness or Disease?), Taking the Test: Are You a Biblioholic? (I found out that I definitely am), The History of the Book, Bibliomaniac and Bibliophiles, Collectomania, Varients of the Disease, Biblionarcissism, We are What We Buy, Fantasy Bookstore, Reading, To Stack and Protect, Lending, and The Cure".
The truth is...we are born biblioholic. There are 25 questions to determine how big of a problem you actually have...have you bought the same book twice without knowing it? Are you unable to walk through a mall without stopping at a bookstore? Have you ever suddenly become deeply interested in an obscure topic and immediately bought six or more books on that topic? I know that I could answer almost "yes" to every question.
And what about reading itself? Do you read in restaurants? Do you read on the toilet? Do you read in bed? Do you read when traveling? How about reading at work?
How do you feel about lending out your books to others?
This book was humorous, because I realized I wasn't the only one out there that was a bibliopolic. Even though there are many electrical/computer devices out there I will always want the real thing...a book.
Chapters include: "Confessions of a Biblioholic, Anatomy of an Addiction (Is Biblioholiolism: Weakness or Disease?), Taking the Test: Are You a Biblioholic? (I found out that I definitely am), The History of the Book, Bibliomaniac and Bibliophiles, Collectomania, Varients of the Disease, Biblionarcissism, We are What We Buy, Fantasy Bookstore, Reading, To Stack and Protect, Lending, and The Cure".
The truth is...we are born biblioholic. There are 25 questions to determine how big of a problem you actually have...have you bought the same book twice without knowing it? Are you unable to walk through a mall without stopping at a bookstore? Have you ever suddenly become deeply interested in an obscure topic and immediately bought six or more books on that topic? I know that I could answer almost "yes" to every question.
And what about reading itself? Do you read in restaurants? Do you read on the toilet? Do you read in bed? Do you read when traveling? How about reading at work?
How do you feel about lending out your books to others?
This book was humorous, because I realized I wasn't the only one out there that was a bibliopolic. Even though there are many electrical/computer devices out there I will always want the real thing...a book.
February 28, 2019
This was a fascinating, funny and at times very accurate depiction of being a bookworm obsessed with owning books.
I found myself very entertained and learned some very interesting tidbits about a variety of bookworms throughout the ages. I've also learned some fascinating terms for a variety of types of bookworms.
It was a pleasure to read this book and found myself laughing over several funny aspects which I felt was the intention and some truth weaved in.
I highly recommend it to bookworms who enjoy a laugh and learning some new terms. Also there's a fascinating part about the perfect bookstore!
I found myself very entertained and learned some very interesting tidbits about a variety of bookworms throughout the ages. I've also learned some fascinating terms for a variety of types of bookworms.
It was a pleasure to read this book and found myself laughing over several funny aspects which I felt was the intention and some truth weaved in.
I highly recommend it to bookworms who enjoy a laugh and learning some new terms. Also there's a fascinating part about the perfect bookstore!
May 4, 2019
So yes, I am a biblioholic (and no one who knows me will be surprised to hear that). This book is a humorous take on the love, joy and craziness of being a reader, and lover of books. I'm happy to be addicted to books and this book helped remind me of why.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews