Some research I did after writing yesterday's piece suggests that I am NOT a book hoarder. According to the conditions below, outlined by Jessie Sholl in her online article, No, You Are Not A Book Hoarder, I do not fit the bill:
"Just because you have a lot of books, that doesn't mean you're a bibliomaniac. Can you walk through the room in which your books are stored? Have you depleted any of your life savings on these books? Do you hide when the doorbell rings or not allow a plumber into your home when your sink is clogged? a lot of books, that doesn't mean you're a bibliomaniac… you might have packed bookcases and, yes, too many books, but that doesn't mean you're a book hoarder."
Sholl goes on to say that carelessly tossing the label of hoarder around is disrespectful to hoarders and those affected by the disorder.
To me, it is reassuring to know that I am not a hoarder by a mile, if the two cases of bibliomanes quoted by Sholl in her article are anything to go by. In one case, a Spanish monk committed at least eight murders in his quest for rare and valuable texts. In the other, a mother locked away her son in a sanitarium for fear that her son would burn away the family fortune on his obsession of bird books of which he already had 65,000. But I certainly did not mean to be flippant or disrespectful to people with such a disorder when I called myself a book hoarder. I just realised that I have the inclination of over-purchasing and felt the need to put that in check.
No comments:
Post a Comment