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Yankee
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 16 Apr 2006
Posts: 8265
Location: USA
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 #3 (permalink) Tue Oct 03, 2006 13:36 pm Mania |
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Hi Conchita,
I share your mania as in bibliomania - is that new or secondhand?
Alan
_________________
English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story New year resolutions |
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Alan
Co-founder
Joined: 27 Sep 2003
Posts: 9191
Location: UK
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| #4 (permalink) Wed Oct 04, 2006 10:00 am Manias |
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| Yankee wrote: |
Another mania I didn't notice on your list was "rulemania"? Doesn't that exist?   |
It certainly does, and we ought to know something about it! If it doesn't exist officially, well, it should! (I assume you meant 'grammarrulemania'?) 
_____
Compulsive hoarders or book collectors?
| Alan wrote: |
| I share your mania as in bibliomania - is that new or secondhand? |
The Wikipedia definition for ‘bibliomania’ made me reconsider whether we should not use the term ‘bibliophilia’ instead! (“The bibliophile is usually an avid book collector, sometimes pursuing scholarship in the collection, sometimes putting form above content with an emphasis on old, rare, and expensive books, first editions, books with special or unusual bindings, autographed copies, etc.”).
| Quote: |
Bibliomania is an obsessive-compulsive disorder involving the collecting of books to the point where social relations or health are damaged. One of several psychological disorders associated with books, bibliomania is characterized by the collecting of books which have no use to the collector nor any great intrinsic value to a genuine book collector. The purchase of multiple copies of the same book and edition and the accumulation of books beyond possible capacity of use or enjoyment are frequent symptoms of bibliomania.
Bibliomania is not to be confused with bibliophilia, which is the legitimate love of books and is not considered a clinical psychological disorder.
Other abnormal behaviours involving books include book-eating (bibliophagy), compulsive book-stealing (bibliokleptomania), book-burying (bibliotaphy), book-burning (bibliocaust), etc.
Examples
· Mel Gibson's character in the movie Conspiracy Theory suffers from triggered bibliomania, a form of mind-control that prompts him to buy a copy of J.D. Salinger's Catcher In The Rye every time he goes outside his apartment
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· Sir Thomas Phillipps (1792-1872) suffered from severe bibliomania. His collection, which at his death contained over 160,000 books and manuscripts, was still being auctioned off over 100 years after his death. |
ESL Lesson: Book Expressions
http://www.english-test.net/lessons/17/index.html |
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Conchita
Language Coach
Joined: 26 Dec 2005
Posts: 2826
Location: Madrid, Spain
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| #5 (permalink) Wed Oct 04, 2006 10:16 am Mania |
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Hi Conchita,
Thanks for quoting my piece - I'd forgotten I wrote it, must be getting older.
To get to my point. What I meant was do you like collecting secondhand books?
Alan
_________________
English as a Foreign Language
You can read my EFL story Three Letters for You? |
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Alan
Co-founder
Joined: 27 Sep 2003
Posts: 9191
Location: UK
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| #6 (permalink) Wed Oct 04, 2006 13:21 pm Mania |
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| Alan wrote: |
| To get to my point. What I meant was do you like collecting secondhand books? |
I started collecting books for the pure joy and fun of it, although I’ve never really searched for rare or special editions. Then I concentrated my interest on imported (untranslated) copies, and, mainly due to their higher cost, gradually stopped buying new books. So, browsing through secondhand bookshops soon became a favourite pastime.
Though I probably ended up spending more than ever on books, I eventually tried (not without effort) to buy only those I really meant to read, mainly novels – not that I’ve done much of that (either buying or reading) lately. Since I also enjoy borrowing reading matter from libraries, unread books are piling up and gathering dust on my shelves, phlegmatically wating their turn on my lap. |
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Conchita
Language Coach
Joined: 26 Dec 2005
Posts: 2826
Location: Madrid, Spain
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