Book Hoarding - The World's Only "Good Addiction"? No.

(c) Quentin Blake

Book hoarding is a condition that we regularly disguise as 'a good addiction'. There is, my friends, no such thing as a good addiction. "Addiction to vegetables!", "addiction to studying!", "addiction to documentaries!". No, no and no, people. Not only are those not good addictions, they will also make your life exceedingly dull so please please stop.

Basically, book hoarding is all about the deep stuff. What's going on inside our insecure little minds. Can you tell I'm the daughter of a CBT therapist?

I've been thinking about this, as a self-confessed book hoarder, and am trying to come up with all the potential internal dialogues we are having without even realising. One that I am certain is relevant to me, is an obsession with 'ownership'. Some how, and I think it's Brits in particular, we have persuaded ourselves that we need to OWN things in order to be accepted as a proper human. I mean who are you if you don't leave your relatives a dusty room full of things they will spend decades getting rid of?

In the case of books, of course, by owning them we do become more intelligent. Rich people have been building libraries for themselves in their own homes for centuries, filling them with mammoth great encyclopedias on the flowers and fauna of Cumbria just so that when they have their friends around for a nice cup of tea or a sophisticated cocktail party, they will think better of you. Maybe even be slightly intimidated. Now I don't think this is the case with me, not really. Largely because I don't think there are any literary shoulder-pads in this world that I could put on my shelf that would make me look intimidating.

There is always the more positive spin and that is that a physical book can be so PRETTY. I mean it was all Amazon's fault anyway. Even before Kindle, it was Amazon who preyed on the impulse purchaser in us all by making it possible to buy a book in pretty much one click. Then no delivery charge came in and we're hooked.

As for Kindle, it's convenient, yes, but after all this we still like pretty things. To hold a book, absorb its cover that has manipulated you in to buying it and turn its pages and feel its individual weight, all the things you don't think you're noticing when you're reading but you are.

After a bit of a ramble, I am definitely no closer to curing my addiction to owning books and you are probably fast asleep. But maybe I'll try and work my way through my hideously huge unread pile/bookshelf before buying another book...