diagnosis and treatment of print addiction. Getting a book about print addiction is like lighting a pipe to ponder your tobacco habit/

Not bad, but could have been funnier. ( )

I enjoyed this book overall. It looks at the phenomenon of people being addicted to books: to buying them, owning them and/or reading them...not to mention burying or eating them. It is mostly funny in a "tongue in cheek" kind of way, but occasionally seems to be trying to be more serious. It was fun to read but not great. ( )

PLOT OR PREMISE:
A mixed-tone argument that you can be "addicted" to reading and owning books, with some examples of book hoarders from years-gone-by.
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WHAT I LIKED:
There are some really good ""humour"" lists, kind of like a Letterman top ten list for:
- Moving when you have a lot of books;
- A Biblioholic's test (how big is your problem);
- The snobbish Discovery Index (I knew the author when..);
- Reading in restaurants;
- Latin explanations of literary taste: ""De gustibus non est disputandum"" -- Everyone to their own non-disputable tastes; and,
- Ten Commandments for the Book Handler.
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WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
The author can't seem to decide what the book is -- a light-hearted, tongue-in-cheek ode to book hoarders everywhere or a serious tome about an actual mental illness. The book starts out with a light-hearted look at those who feel an overwhelming urge to buy books i.e. "biblioholics". By the end, however, he treats it like a real mental illness that requires awareness and treatment. Either approach could work, but bouncing between one and the other wears out really fast. Perhaps this would have been better as a collection of small articles for a small newspaper, and even then, in dire need of an editor to give it better focus and less repetition. But even in a series of newspaper articles, I suspect the reader would tire of the subject matter very quickly -- the metaphor is dragged out far past its prime.
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BOTTOM-LINE:
Well-researched, but yawn…
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DISCLOSURE:
I received no compensation, not even a free copy, in exchange for this review. I am not personal friends with the author, nor do I follow him on social media. ( )

BIBLIOHOLISM, by Tom Raabe, is a humorous look at those of us who are “addicted” to books. It contains chapters such as Anatomy Of An Addiction, Bibliomaniacs And Bibliophiles, We Are What We Buy, and Variants Of The Disease.
I was mostly amused during my reading of this book, seeing parts of me described in print, but sometimes I actually learned something new. Mr. Raabe often uses words I needed to look up, so I have to give him credit for both entertaining and teaching me.
If you are a fellow biblioholic you will enjoy this book. ( )