Guilty as charged.

[madbaker]

Obligatory kitten note: Galen is getting more relaxed – he spent a lot of time yesterday playing with the feather wand and the new scratching post. But he still cowers sometimes when we approach, or from upstairs noises. So we’ll keep him mostly confined to the bathroom for a bit longer.

Now, on to the main topic for today: books.
Hello, everyone. My name is Jeremy F, and I am a biblioholic.

This week I checked out a book from a university library: Making a Living in the Middle Ages: the People of Britain, 850-1520. I just started reading it for fun.
It was published in 2002, and no one else had checked it out since it was added to their collection...

I got the following from Cody’s Books in Berkeley.

Do You Suffer from Literary Abuse Syndrome?

Once a relatively rare disorder, LAS has become far more prevalent in recent years. Answer yes to three or more of these statements and you may be a literature abuser. Five or more and you definitely have a problem, friend. You may need help. We know we do.

How many of these apply to you? Get a pencil. Be honest, now.

1. I have read fiction when I was depressed or to cheer myself up.

2. I have gone on reading binges of an entire book or more in a day.

3. I read rapidly, often "gulping" chapters.

4. I have sometimes read early in the morning or before work.

5. I have hidden books in different places to sneak a chapter without being seen.

6. Sometimes I avoid friends or family obligations in order to read novels.

7. Sometimes I re-write film or television dialog as the characters speak.

8. The best part of visiting someone’s house is reading their books.

9. At a party I will often slip off unnoticed to read.

10. Reading has made me seek haunts and companions that I would otherwise avoid.

11. I have neglected personal hygiene or household chores until I have finished a novel.

12. I have spent money meant for necessities on books instead. (Note this is a trick statement. Books are necessities.)

13. I have attempted to check out more library books than permitted.

14. Most of my friends are heavy fiction readers.

15. I have sometimes passed out from a night of heavy reading.

16. I have suffered blackouts or memory loss from a bout of reading.

17. I have wept, become angry or irrational because of something I read.

18. I have sometimes wished I did not read so much.

19. Sometimes I think my reading is out of control.

Er... I answered yes to 17 of the questions.

To quote John Stracke: "I’m not a bibliophile, I’m a bibliophiliac. When I go in a bookstore, my wallet bleeds."

Comments

Re: Biblioholics Anonymous...

[madbaker.livejournal.com]

I answered "no" to #s 9 and 16. I get cranky if I don't read regularly. Doesn't have to be fiction - I'll read the side of a cereal box if nothing else is available.

As Robert Heinlein said in Glory Road (more or less - I don't have it to hand) a book habit is less costly than cocaine but more addictive than heroin.