Bookaholics Anonymous

Hello everyone. My name is Peter. I have been a bookaholic all my adult life.

Today I want to share a little victory with you. Some of you may find this hurtful or embarassing but I found it useful in my striving to be the better person my wife wants me to be.

I gave away seven books today.

I was offered other books in exchange, any book from the shelves, but I said, "No!", and left the store.

Thank you for listening.

The store? That's a great idea! On my way home from work tonight, I'll stop by my local Barnes & Noble and give away seven of their books!!!

Heh. I've been making some feeble attempts of late to reduce the book-burden, but I keep dragging home ten times the amount.

Giving away books--madness, madness!

It used to be that Edward R. Hamilton had one dollar specials. I used to buy ten of them and take them to church to give to people whom I knew read. I would, however, keep one for myself.

Robert

Only one?? You, sir, have no business here in Hell.

5
When the man says

...in my striving to be the better person my wife wants me to be...

it's a pretty dead giveaway that he's quite at home here in the infernal regions.

it's a pretty dead giveaway that he's quite at home here in the infernal regions.

You're too kind!

Hello everyone! My name is Sonia. I have been a long-term bookaholic, starting age 4.

My only victories are that I manage to separate long-term interest books from the short-term ones, thus giving the latter ones to a bookswapping site once the interest has gone. And getting more long-term interest books in the process, which is not helping me.

The path to recovery is far from easy, my friends! The hell we occasionally live in can also be the one we create for ourselves. :-)
And who said I was wanting to get out of this vicious circle? ;-)

Welcome to our support group, soniaandree.

I particularly like your attitude as expressed in the words, who said I was wanting to get out of this vicious circle?

The attitude is probably what will make my path to recovery ever so difficult, I guess. But we're all between friends here, so support is at hand in times of need (more books to read, anyone?).

Enivrez-Vous

by Charles Baudelaire

Enivrez-Vous
Il faut être toujours ivre.
Tout est là:
c'est l'unique question.
Pour ne pas sentir
l'horrible fardeau du Temps
qui brise vos épaules
et vous penche vers la terre,
il faut vous enivrer sans trêve.
Mais de quoi?
De vin, de poésie, ou de vertu, à votre guise.
Mais enivrez-vous.
Et si quelquefois,
sur les marches d'un palais,
sur l'herbe verte d'un fossé,
dans la solitude morne de votre chambre,
vous vous réveillez,
l'ivresse déjà diminuée ou disparue,
demandez au vent,
à la vague,
à l'étoile,
à l'oiseau,
à l'horloge,
à tout ce qui fuit,
à tout ce qui gémit,
à tout ce qui roule,
à tout ce qui chante,
à tout ce qui parle,
demandez quelle heure il est;
et le vent,
la vague,
l'étoile,
l'oiseau,
l'horloge,
vous répondront:
"Il est l'heure de s'enivrer!
Pour n'être pas les esclaves martyrisés du Temps,
enivrez-vous;
enivrez-vous sans cesse!
De vin, de poésie ou de vertu, à votre guise."

Get Drunk

Always be drunk.
That's it!
The great imperative!
In order not to feel
Time's horrid fardel
bruise your shoulders,
grinding you into the earth,
get drunk and stay that way.
On what?
On wine, poetry, virtue, whatever.
But get drunk.
And if you sometimes happen to wake up
on the porches of a palace,
in the green grass of a ditch,
in the dismal loneliness
of your own room,
your drunkenness gone or disappearing,
ask the wind,
the wave,
the star,
the bird,
the clock,
ask everything that flees,
everything that groans
or rolls
or sings,
everything that speaks,
ask what time it is;
and the wind,
the wave,
the star,
the bird,
the clock
will answer you:
"Time to get drunk!
Don't be martyred slaves of Time,
Get drunk!
Stay drunk!
On wine, virtue, poetry, whatever!"

Amen!

And pass the whiskey...

I'll drink to that! :-)