When I was giving classes on Milan Kundera’s The Book of Laughter and Forgetting, I came across a term I never heard of before- I had to google it as a part of my preparation. The most amazing thing about teaching is nothing other than the opportunity to learn new things every day. Graphomania was the word that even MS word can’t recognize. From the author’s way of presenting it, I perceived that it meant an obsession for writing books. There was a character in the book that wanted to write a book but didn’t know what she’d write the book about. Later I found that graphomania is associated with mental illness also, sometimes called scribophilia, the obsession for writing excessively or professionally, seeing one’s name in publication and so on.
Like writing, reading can be an obsession for some people too. I saw people using the word bookoholic to express their reading addiction. But the most interesting addiction about books can be that of buying books, beyond one’s ability to read all of them. Bibliophilia is sometimes considered as a pathological condition when book enthusiasts start stealing books to fulfill their desire to collect them, whether they read those books or not is out of question when extreme enthusiasm for books leads one to a crime like theft. If one is not stealing for the sake of addiction, there shouldn’t be any objection against the person so far. Japanese call it Tsundoku, the practice of buying more books than one can ever read.
I sometimes think about the addiction I have about books; it is not graphomania of course, I don’t have an obsession to write books, nor is it an obsession to collect books by hook or by crook, never did I steal any books from anybody unless I forgot to return a borrowed one. Then, I concluded, it must be bibliophilia and tsundoku- well, I don’t really collect books, I forget the books I lent to others unless I really need those. Still, I am obsessed with books somehow. I live with books, by the books and for the books. Only thing I spend my earnings recklessly is nothing other than the books I buy. I bought books on genetic engineering (Genome by Matt Ridley), on drugs (How to Change Your Mind by Michael Polan) and sometimes I buy even self-help books.
What do I consider while deciding which book I want to buy? Cover? Well, the answer might amuse you but sometimes yes… it’s the cover of the books that makes me attracted to certain books. I can name at least one book which I started reading because the cover was fascinating- it’s a Nigerian novel titled Welcome to Legos by Chibundu Onuzo. Sometimes I buy books because they are famous. I know there are plenty of good books out there, one can never finish reading all of them, and so I believe in recommendations. I discovered Elif Shafak and John Green from Facebook Friends’ posts, Rohinton Mistry was also unknown to me till somebody asked me inbox if I ever read Mistry.
Courtesy: Umme FarhanaWhen I was asked to write something about books I was a bit confused, what can be written about books when books are a part of my life and I can’t think a single day without books? When I started crocheting, I bought a book that explains the patterns, my first cooking experience is also related to books- my mother was out of the house for a few days and asked me to cook for the family, first thing I did was to go to the nearest bookshop and bought a copy of Ranna Khadyo Pushti by Siddika Kabir. I have books that make baking easy, I read books about parenting, I read books about everything I am interested to- I collected books to learn Spanish. In this age of YouTube nobody is dependent on books that much, you just search the internet and everything comes to you with the way you want it, texts, images and videos but I believe in books like nothing else.
Students tend to watch the film adaptations of the novels they are supposed to read in certain courses. For me things are quite opposite- I read What’s Eating Gilbert Grape and We Need to Talk about Kevin after watching the films and not the other way around. I sometimes think why I prefer books to films whereas most people find films easier to enjoy- films take a few hours only while a book takes at least a week to finish. I wonder why big Hollywood stars couldn’t make me feel content about the characters I imagined while reading the very books the films are based on. I didn’t find the answer to this question. While watching Matilda, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Witches I felt terribly upset because I could feel the author’s frustration- Roald Dahl always urged children to read books instead of watching television. I gave a few children books written by Roald Dahl and they said they already watched the films so they are not interested to read.
While searching for the meaning of bibliophilia I learned that reading or collecting books can cause serious mental problems as well, a few people become elitist, snobbish and start treating other people like laymen. Some people think books can enlighten people, make them wiser and more sensible, but I really do not believe books can serve purposes like these. Books are like any other addiction, nothing more special than indoor gardening or listening to music. Books can offer pure pleasure like the flowers that bloom in your garden or the cakes you bake for your children. I do not consider reading or collecting books a virtue. For me, books are a source of happiness; books make me feel alive. I proudly call myself a bibliophile since books are the only things that I never regret buying.
It would have been easier for me to create a photo story on my books- every time I receive books via courier I take a photo and post on Facebook or Instagram, I follow groups that talk about books and sometimes I save memes they share. In my newsfeed I don’t miss a single advertisement from a book selling page. I crochet bookmarks and show those off, you can easily find out which books I recently bought or the ones I am reading now. While writing this piece I was contemplating the pictures I’d like to add with the write up.
Recently I thought of founding a book club where people would be meeting each other to talk about the books they are reading. I didn’t find as much response as I expected, people tend to become more interested to meet online which I thought was not my primary intention. Books are physical objects to me-it fills your senses, you see the cover, you touch the pages, you smell the inside, you listen to the sound of the pages when they flip… books are not something you read only, for bookoholics books are to be touched, smelt and hugged.
I guess there must have been a term for this habit too!
Umme Farhana is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English Language and Literature at Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University. She is a connoisseur of all things books, and a strong feminist writer. In the 2016 Ekushey Book Fair, her book Dipaboli, a collection of short stories, came out.
