Talk:Bibliomania

Bibliophagy

IE the eating of books - this phenomenon doesn't seem prevalent enough to warrant its mention here. I would suggest its removal. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.52.181.9 (talk) 19:48, 20 July 2011 (UTC)

POV

IMHO the whole art is POV from a psych point of view, the term bibliomania in fact can be found in a less derogatory and more humorous sense in a number of publications - perhaps there needs to be a separate article regarding the same condition that is not so blatantly disparaging! User:SatuSuro 01:29, 24 November 2005 (UTC)

I agree. I think between this article or Bibliophile we could find a place for that meaning rather than a third article, they are all short articles that need expansion. --Stbalbach 03:47, 24 November 2005 (UTC)

Then reading the range of book collecting, bibliophile, and bibliomania, I think I need to step back for a bit, as there are such major omissions (at least from my aust-anglo perspective) in these entries, I'll have to wait till I'm back in full steam after my wiki break to really try to adjust some of the points I have problems with. Thanks for agreeing anyways, will be back - but after some time!!User:SatuSuro 10:58, 24 November 2005 (UTC)

Yeah, the book collecting article in particular needs a lot of work, its a mostly "text dump" of Encyclopedia Britannica 1911 -- most of it archane and irrelevant. But that's a bigger problem for Wikipedia in general. --18:33, 24 November 2005 (UTC)

redirect

The word "Bibliomaniac" should redirect here. Bibliomaniac15 01:07, 24 February 2006 (UTC)

Analogy with other media of cultural transmission

Surely similar conditions must exist for the likes of obsessive music and film collectors?

User:HisSpaceResearch 31 May 2006

Psychology?

There are texts, and materials that have nothing to do with obsessive compulsive or any other form disorder that refer to the excessive use and interest in books - ok its a neglected article and poorly populated - so its open to hijacking - but really - there is more to this obsession than simplistic psychological labelling SatuSuro 04:41, 27 January 2007 (UTC)

Just because it falls under the purview of psychology, that doesn't mean that's *only* what it is. The term does have a psychological use, but other ways it may be used still apply. (I wasn't claiming exclusivity to psychology by adding it to that project.) :) Aleta 05:33, 27 January 2007 (UTC)

Fair enough - my apologies - there is - down the line - a possibility that if adequately populated by sufficient texts refs - that another tag /category might be of use as well - but at the monent as it stands - its fine SatuSuro 05:46, 27 January 2007 (UTC)

I have gone ahead and edited this page, but not out of any disrespect. "Bibliomania" is not a recognized disorder, nor is it even mentioned in the DSM-VI. So I have changed the definition to reflect the fact that it could be a symptom, but alone does not constitute any disorder of any kind. By the definition the author gives, most of the people and characters listed at the bottom do not constitute "Bibliomaniacs". For instance, the preacher that stole rare books would, by definition, not make the criteria of compulsively buying books that have no value but this would hold true for the American book thief as well. In the case of Mel Gibson's character, the compulsive buying of Catcher in the Rye is more likely a symptom of a delusional or personality disorder and would not warrant a second diagnosis on that single habit. More likely, Bibliomania would be a subset of hoarding, which is currently under consideration for the DSM-V. Skidmore212 (talk) 23:27, 2 August 2011 (UTC)

A very specific comment

I am occasionally led to and fro on this site, as I hope others also are, and so I come upon these random pages with references to things I was otherwise familiar with already. In this case, I am referring to the 'examples' of bibliomaniacs in popular culture.

In regards to the anime Read or Die, I vaguely remember it, but I do remember enough. Also, whomever wrote the paragraph on Readman just wasn't clear with their writing. Based on the fact that this character "has read thousands of books", then perhaps that would only make her a bibliophile with a tendency towards hoarding, as opposed to a bibliomaniac. Even more puzzling is the fact that at the end of the paragraph, the author completely negates their initial assertion by saying exactly what I just said: Readman is more bibliophile than bibliomaniac.

So then, I ask, why include this character at all in an article about bibliomaniacs? Just for the sake of pop culture examples? If the example is not an actual example, then it's pointless!

I direct this question to the author of said paragraph; I shall kindly refrain from editing the entry.

I am sure this matter is of the utmost importance to everyone ;) But I must always stop by and try to tidy up things.

Good day. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.43.93.12 (talk) 11:33, August 24, 2007 (UTC)

Original research

This article suffers badly from original research. This is especially prevalent in the "People with bibliomania"-section. Of all the examples mentioned only one (1!) person has a source that mentions bibliomania, namely the rev. W.F. Witcher. All others are either unsourced or improperly sourced (that is the source does not mention the term "bibliomania" at all). This is very problematic since it has become a coatrack for fictional and non-fictional persons that collects books or reads books. Bookcollecting or being an avid reader is not the same as suffering from bibliomania, and thus it is important to have citations that specifically mentions these persons as having bibliomania.

As can be seen from the sections above, I am not the only one that questions the validity of most of the persons listed in this article as suffering from bibliomania. And since this is a borderline psychological condition I think it very important not to include anyone on the list based on hunches. I tried cleaning the section but was reverted. So I thought I would bring the problem here, and perhaps other editors could contribute with some constructive suggestions. --Saddhiyama (talk) 08:52, 8 August 2011 (UTC)

Our policy is that things should be referenced. Our actual working practice is that brief list items (like these) where they link to a main article on the topic are often not referenced from the list page. The assumption is that the linked article contains fuller details, and references. This is a long way from being original research, nor is it a valid reason to delete these list items. If you wish to be helpful, then by all means copy the relevant citations from the linked articles into this list. If there is no such article or citation, then by all means tag the list for needing such itself. However edits of bulk deletion of the list are not appropriate. Andy Dingley (talk) 08:57, 8 August 2011 (UTC)

It is if the lists contain incorrect assumptions based on original research it is perfectly fine to delete it. I concede that the Thomas Phillipps and Stephen Blumberg articles may contain a citation that includes the term "bibliomania" (I don't have access to Basbanes: A Gentle Madness), but none of the main articles for the fictional characters contains any reference to the term. And it is my opinion that all the fictional characters are mischaracterised with bibliomania.

• Don Quixote. His senility confuses the stories that he reads, but no signs of bibliomania.
• The Mel Gibson character is covered above.
• Nothing about bibliomania in Read or Die or Yomiko Readman. Also covered in the section above.
• "Sheska ... is often seen to be consumed by books" and "...at one point even became trapped by a pile of books which had fallen on her"? Huh?
• "Lord Groan ... has a gargantuan library. When it is burned to the ground, he becomes slightly demented and eventually kills himself.". A sad story, but not necessarily bibliomania.
• Calvin Tower does not mention anything about what he thinks about books (other than he reluctantly sells some, clearly not a trait of a bibliomaniac).
• Auto-da-Fé mentions what appears to be a diligent and bookcollecting scholar.
• Definitely, Maybe mentions that "They go back to her apartment, where April has multiple copies of Jane Eyre in her collection, explaining that her father gave her a copy with an inscription in the front shortly before he died, and the book was later lost. She has spent years buying copies of Jane Eyre from secondhand stores, hoping to find the copy her father gave her.". Sounds reasonable, and has nothing to do with bibliomania.

This research leads me to conclude that they are mischaracterised and that there is a reason why no source mentioning them in connection with bibliomania can be found. As I am not aware of any Wikipedia policy stating that it is the task of other editors to disprove unsourced statements, I think they should all be deleted. They could be replaced by examples of ore solidity like the character Théodore in Charles Nodiers Le Bibliomane and Giacomo in Gustave Flauberts Bibliomanie. --Saddhiyama (talk) 09:30, 8 August 2011 (UTC)

If the assumptions are incorrect, then of course that error should be fixed. However that involves careful fact checking on a per-item basis - such things are not practical for bulk deletion, and bulk deletions are rarely an indication that such appropriate care has been taken.

I'm unfamiliar with most of the characters here, although one with which I am, Lord Groan, I'd certainly regard as a bibliomaniac. Even Don Quixote is not senile, he has become a fantasist divorced from reality. And where did his fantasies arise? From books. I admit I'm not enough of a Cervantes scholar to know just how many books were involved here, or the extent of his obsession with them. Andy Dingley (talk) 10:24, 8 August 2011 (UTC)

With all due respect, we need reliable sources, not more personal opinions. I have searched around a bit for sources, and come up with what seems to be the two main works: [http://www.amazon.com/Anatomy-Bibliomania-Holbrook-Jackson/dp/0252070437 This book] which does not mention Don Quixote in its index, and the beforementioned [http://www.amazon.com/Gentle-Madness-Bibliophiles-Bibliomanes-Eternal/dp/0805061762/ref=pd_sim_b_1 A Gentle Madness] which does include Don Quixote in the index. However A Gentle Madness carries the title Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes, and the Eternal Passion for Books, so it is possible that he is characterised as a bibliophiliac and not a bibliomaniac in that book. It does seem a common occurrence to mistake bibliomania with bibliophilia, something I think is the case with most of the examples mentioned on the list in this article, and as far as I can see also regarding Lord Groan ("His only escape is reading in his library"). There are no valid Google matches for "Lord Groan" and "bibliomania", only mirrors of this article. --Saddhiyama (talk) 15:33, 8 August 2011 (UTC)

Wow. Logical fallacy anyone?

The fact that one book omn the topic of bibliomania doesn't mention a subject is no evidence that the subject isn't (or to be fair, that they are) a bibliomaniac. Andy Dingley (talk) 16:27, 8 August 2011 (UTC)

Since you obviously aren't interested in participating in any productive discussion here, or seemingly to help in the search for sources, I am giving the list a week just in any case anyone else might be interested. Failing that the list of fictional characters will be deleted on grounds of original research. --Saddhiyama (talk) 09:20, 9 August 2011 (UTC)

I have removed the original research. Reliable secondary sources that mentions the concept "bibliomania" is required for any additions to stay on that list. --Saddhiyama (talk) 10:48, 4 March 2012 (UTC)

Well, I agree with the removal, just have to say, Yomiko Readman got primary sources stating as bibliomania over and over in the story and websites (written in katakana ピブリオマニア in the original Japanese version, the translated version ignored the subtext). Would be hard to find reliable secondary source though. See if you consider this as one: [1] これに立ち向かう主人公の読子・リードマンは本で充満したビルに住むビブリオマニアにして、大英図書館に所属するエージェント「ザ・ペーパー」。 The protagonist who stand against this, Yomiko Readman is a bibliomania living in a building full of books, is a (special) agent, The Paper, of The British Library. —Preceding signed comment added by MythSearcher^talk 20:23, 4 March 2012 (UTC)

Bibliomania.com free online literature and study guides

Not to be confused with a spam link: it is a resource for home schooling. I used one of their history articles as a reference. Wikilinking the name directed me here. I don't home school, so, other than using it for the occasional reference found in the Dogpile as only source, I have no interest in Bibliomania free online literature and study guides. --Pawyilee (talk) 02:59, 15 May 2012 (UTC)

General edits

I added a person to both the real life and fiction section and cited articles that defend their merit.Bookworm1898 (talk) 21:55, 11 July 2022 (UTC) I also separated information from the description and history into two sections for clarity and added supporting information. Bookworm1898 (talk) 22:59, 11 July 2022 (UTC)