So, some of the necessary characteristics to define an addiction are that it is compulsive, it is persistent, there are symptoms upon withdrawal, and the substance is harmful. Also, according to a website about drug abuse and addiction, "one of the most dangerous effects of drug abuse and addiction is denial. The urge to use is so strong, that the mind finds many ways to rationalize the addiction."
As I was musing recently, I found some interesting parallels between my impulsive and compulsive buying and reading of books and substance addiction.
A Quick Caveat: I do not wish to belittle substance abuse and addiction, or to claim that my situation is in any way comparable--it is only similar on a MUCH smaller scale. In addition, I am not claiming to be addicted to books (books, unlike drugs, are not a negative or harmful substance), so please do not accuse me of hypocrisy when my next blog post about meaningless hyperbole is published.
An addiction is compulsive: Over spring break, I found myself repeatedly buying books, even after a shopping spree at Barnes and Noble. I just calculated that I spent (including tax) approximately $150 on free reading books in just ten days.
An addiction is persistent: I spent this in 5 separate places at 5 different times (although 2/3 of it was spent at once). Also, I bought books even though I have many books sitting on my shelf unread. I bought more books than I will have time to read until summer vacation.
One of the most dangerous effects of addiction is rationalization: I had the opportunity to spend several hours in Barnes and Noble on Monday, and I simply kept adding to the stack of books I was carrying. It wasn't until I reached the checkout counter that I realized I was spending $100. I managed to rationalize each of my choices (I had been wanting to buy this one for so long! This one was such a good deal! This one looks like such an interesting story!) and determined to spend less money on books in the future. However, after this shopping spree and resolution, I was at an antique store with my friend and saw that they had many antique Nancy Drew books. I found a copy of the first book in the series that had been published in the 1930s. I rationalized this 12 dollar purchase thus: The first 34 Nancy Drew books were revised from 25 chapters to 20 beginning in the late 1950s, and the last time I had found an early version it had been 25 dollars. 12 dollars was such a good deal! A few days later I was on Amazon ordering my AP Government review flash cards. Amazon has this wonderful deal where if you spend $25 or more, you get "free supersaver shipping." The cards were 13 dollars, and I figured, why not spend 12 dollars on something instead of spending four wasted dollars on shipping? Of course, I couldn't find a book that I wanted that cost twelve dollars, but I managed to find a book that cost $8 (and I had been waiting for it to come out in paperback!) and another for $10 (and in a bookstore it would be 15!). So I rationalized spending an additional $30 on books after I spent 100 dollars on rationalized books at Barnes and Noble.
An addiction is characterized by withdrawal symptoms: Last year around the end of the summer, I hit a low. I had a lot of summer homework, and the past 5 times I had been in bookstores, I had not found a book to buy, although I'd had money with me. I went into a sort of "good book withdrawal." I would leave a bookstore feeling forlorn and mope home to do homework. I walked into the community college bookstore and decided I would find a book to buy, no matter what. Immediately I got a spring in my step (I'm not kidding) and I started walking briskly towards the literature section. I ended up buying Sense and Sensibility.
Obviously, I do not have a legitimate addiction because books are not a harmful substance, and I didn't buy all of the books I wanted too. I took several books out of my pile in Barnes and Noble and put them back on the shelf. I also went into Borders Express on Thursday without buying anything! However, I think I have more sympathy and understanding now for those who do have addictions. I suppose I can see where they're coming from.
my addiction = blogging
ReplyDeleteI have suffered from book dependency in the past, I have always found that the only working cure is to find a book so horribly awful, so absolutely disagreeable that I cannot read very much of it in a single sitting. I cannot begin a new book when I have an unfinished one, so I read through at a snails pace, one chapter at a time. I recommend 1984, Mein Kampf, Johnny Cochran's biography.
ReplyDeletehahaha. i don't want to cure my book dependency necessarily. i just want to manage it. is 1984 really that bad? i've been wanting to read it....
ReplyDeleteI have a book addiction, too! I run through book money like a crack addict. *cough* I always used to tell my horrified family when I would bring in a new stack: There are much worse ways I could spend my time. :D
ReplyDeleteI really liked 1984. It's a bit out there, though. :)
I tell my family the same thing. "But mom, reading is better than TV or video games or parties!"
ReplyDelete1984 is on my booklist for the summer (with all the books I've bought recently, I won't get to it any sooner). I'm excited to read it!