bibliomania

• “(The other reason indulgence and castigation often are hard to distinguish in an account of bibliomania is that those diagnosing the disorder so often detect symptoms in themselves.)”

  "Wedded to Books': Bibliomania and the Romantic Essayists

• “The ardor of possessing books, commonly called bibliomania, also styled bibliophilism and "biblio" -- whatever else that has suggested itself to the fruitful imaginations of dozens of felicitous writers upon the subject, -- is described by Dibdin as a "disease which grows with our growth, and strengthens with our strength.”

  Book-Lovers, Bibliomaniacs and Book Clubs

• “Himself an indefatigable collector of books, the possessor of a library as valuable as it was interesting, a library containing volumes obtained only at the cost of great personal sacrifice, he was in the most active sympathy with the disease called bibliomania, and knew, as few comparatively poor men have known, the half-pathetic, half-humorous side of that incurable mental infirmity.”

  The Love Affairs of a Bibliomaniac

• “Burns, or Americana, or any other branch or phase of bibliomania; for each of these things accomplishes a noble purpose in that each contributes to the glory of the great common cause of bibliomania, which is indeed the summum bonum of human life.”

  The Love Affairs of a Bibliomaniac

• “He obsessively spent money he didn't have on books, and his bibliomania was the first great manifestation of his propensity to addiction - a hunger to consume that was 'absolutely endless and inexorable as the grave'.”

  The Coffee House | Politics and News Discussion Forum

• “The modern bibliophiles who know what it is to revel in the enjoyment of a goodly library, luxuriant in costly bindings and rich in bibliographical rarities, who are fully susceptible to the delights and exquisite sensibilities of that sweet madness called bibliomania, will readily comprehend the multiplied pleasures of that early and illustrious bibliophile in the seclusion of Auckland Palace; he there ardently applied his energies and wealth to the accumulation of books; and whilst engaged in this pleasing avocation, let us endeavor to catch a glimpse of him.”

  Bibliomania in the Middle Ages

• “Early nineteenth-century phenomena such as bibliomania and the figure of the "bookman" helped to spark a widespread awareness of books as printed objects and an interest in the physical dimensions of the readerly relationship to them.”

  Article Abstracts

• “Some, such as bibliomania - obsessive collecting of books - aren't too worrying.”

  The Guardian World News

• “Never has bibliomania been written in such a wistful way.”

  Books. Matter. Stories. Matter. (Or: How a Book Made Me Cry After Six Pages) « BAHAY TALINHAGA

• “A perfect primer for those unfamiliar with the "gentle madness" that is bibliomania, this meticulous history also offers plenty to enthrall the most knowledgeable of collectors.”

  The Wall Street Journal: Extreme Book-Collecting

Show 10 more examples...