Biblioholism: The Literary Addiction [Paperback]

Tom Raabe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 6, 1991

In this tenth-anniversary edition of the much-loved Biblioholism: The Literary Addiction, author Tom Raabe takes a humorous look at the all-consuming love of books and has updated the information within by discussing the ever-mutating new E-landscape and its effects on fellow biblioholics everywhere. Have you ever awakened the morning after a book-buying spree and been unable to remember how many volumes you bought or how much you spent? Have you ever been reprimanded or fired for reading on the job? Have you ever purchased or rented additional living space just for your books? If you answer "yes" to any or all of these questions, don't worry. You are not alone. Your complete recovery awaits you-just buy one more book!

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Have you ever awakened the morning after a book-buying spree, unable to remember how many you bought or how much you spent? Have you ever been reprimanded or fired for reading on the job? Have you ever purchased or rented additional living space -- just for your books? Then you, like me, are a biblioholic! Tom Raabe's Biblioholism: The Literary Addiction is a unique and hilarious guide for book lovers of all degrees and intensities. This rollicking funny, all-to-true compendium of observations and do-it-yourself diagnostic tests is terrific reading and a grand chuckle. -- Midwest Book Review

From the Publisher

This humorous tenth-anniversary edition brings book addiction out of the closet. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Fulcrum Publishing (August 6, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1555910807
• ISBN-13: 978-1555910808
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,394,978 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reading This Review? You Might be a Biblioholic, June 28, 1998

By 

Robert Derenthal "bucherwurm" (California United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Biblioholism: The Literary Addiction (Paperback)

Do you have a good time browsing through book reviews on Amazon.com? If so you might have the serious addiction described in this book. Many of us who have strange addictions are surprised when we first find out we are not alone. I certainly could identify with a lot of the presented symptoms (My wife and I have a large 11 room house that provides the space needed for our books - why use a dining room for eating when it can easily become a library?). Fortunately the book is so funny that it squelches the guilt feelings that it elicits. If one of your ideas of a good time is to spend a few hours in a book store, then buy this one. Having been disturbed by a customer's screaming, running children in a bookstore yesterday, I would hope that Raabe's next venture would be a book for the unwashed masses regarding rules of behavior in a bookstore.

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a fun book!!, December 17, 2000

By 

Beachreader "BeachReader" (Port Townsend, WA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Biblioholism: The Literary Addiction (Paperback)

I could have written this book - and boy do I wish I had! This book, which includes a test to find out if you are a biblioholic, is absolutely hilarious and I certainly could relate. Living in a house which has been taken over by books in every room, question #22, "When a stranger walks into your house or apartment, are his or her first words usually a comment about your books?" hit too close to home. Another one I found particularly profound was, "Do you ever lie about how many books you've bought?" How true, how true.

Including chapters including "Confessions of a Biblioholic," "Collectomania," "Fantasy Bookstore," "We are What we Buy" and one on reading in all sorts of locations, readers everywhere will be able to readily identity.

My recommendation, buy one for yourself AND one for every biblioholic you know. It's fun to discuss this with friends and even add to the list of questions. A great gift for readers - or even for yourself. Highly recommended!

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I learned..., February 13, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Biblioholism: The Literary Addiction (Paperback)

...about this book from the head of my English department at college a year ago. She's a book addict. I'm a worse one. I lost count of my library after hitting 10,000. I buy books far, far faster than I can read them (last count: 823). I keep a master list on MS Excel of all the books I want to buy 'some day'. Current total: 1714. I have no shelf space left. No closet space left. No room in the basement or attic. And there's no 12-step group for biblioholics.

This book was the perfect thing to make my husband read to show him I wasn't the only book addict in the world. The fact that it was hiliarious didn't hurt, either.