Bibliophilia Bordering on Bibliomania

There are many honorable reasons to buy books - accumulation of knowledge etc. But when people ask me "have you read all of these books?", I know they don't sympathize ... sigh!

Obviously, any explanation should include assertions that you are not at all obssesive about books. Well, may be a little bit ... Recently, my saved (to buy later) list at Amazon.com breached the 600 mark! This is of course a reflection of the inflationary universe of books ...

Anyway, perhaps some definitions is in order to put things in perspective ....

First, some definitions ...

Bibliophilia. A devotion to books and book collecting within the limits of reason.

Bibliomania. A love of books pursued to the point of madness.

"The bibliophile is the master of his books, the bibliomaniac their slave." (Hanns Bohatta)

Memorable Readings ....

Over the years, I have found a number of books to be truly memorable and institutional. Here is a list of these books:

Possession
by A.S.Byatt

The Wild Iris
by Louise Gluck

The World Doesn't End
by Charles Simic

Auto da Fe
by Elias Canetti

Glass Bead Game
by Herman Hesse

One Hundred Years of Solitude
by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Ludwig Wittgenstein: The Duty of Genius
by Ray Monk

Complexity
by Michael Waldrop
 
Seeds from a Birch Tree
by Clark Strand