Biblioholism: The Literary Addiction (original 2001; edition 1991)

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 fun to read but not great. ( )

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.
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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 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.
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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.
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BOTTOM-LINE:
Well-researched, but yawn…
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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. ( )

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. ( )

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 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 ;) ( )

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. ( )