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20 Problems Only Book Lovers Understand
Last week we asked on Facebook and Twitter: What's a problem only book lovers understand? We got over 1,000 amazing responses! So even if non-book lovers don't get your struggle, remember—you're among friends here.
1. "The urge to buy books even though you still have too many books to read at home." (Rie VdWarth)
2. "Feeling sad for people who don't really exist." (Kimberly Moniz)
3. "RUNNING OUT OF SHELF SPACE!!!" (Kim)
4. "Getting interrupted when you are on the last few pages of a book." (Sobe Daya)
5. "The book hangover. When a good book finishes but you can't start a new one because you're still too immersed in the last book to move on." (Meagan Lewis)
6. "Wanting every book in a library section but knowing it is impossible to read all of them." (Richard Azia)
7. "Waiting so long for a sequel that you forget what happened in the first book." (Jessica Luong)
8. "When you're lying in bed and it's all cold in your room—and the hand holding the book freezes to death, even though the rest of you is warm under the blankets." (Alina Marie Swan)
9. "Finishing a book and having to wait a whole year to read the next in the series." (Sarah Scanion)
10. "Trying to keep the book dry while reading in the bath." (Patricia Boland)
11. "Ordering a book online and getting the book with the movie cover. A book with a movie cover just doesn't feel the same." (Anna RN)
12. "Not being able to read and eat lunch at the same time because you don't have a third arm." (Bernadette)
13. "When someone borrows your book and doesn't return it for ages!" (Pallavi B)
14. "Deciding. Which. Book. To. Read. First." (Monique Balsamo)
15. "Getting to a 'can't stop reading' spot in the book and it's 3:00am." (Joan Chesley)
16. "When you have a book with you, but it's not the one you wanted to read right then." (Virginia Osborne)
17. "Being forced to stop reading by other obligations, but choosing to ignore those obligations. Then getting in trouble." (Feel Like Fangirling)
18. "Packing for a trip and never being able to bring enough books." (Erika Gallion)
19. "Having a book fall on your face because you're reading on your back while holding the book up." (Manuel Cedillo)
20. And the ultimate book lovers' dilemma: "So many books, so little time." (Navy Reading)
Have another bibliophile-specific problem? Share it with your fellow Goodreads members in the comments! Chances are you'll find someone (or many someones) who feel your book pain.
(Top image credit: Illustration by Quentin Blake for Roald Dahl's Matilda.)
Comments Showing 151-200 of 1,070 (1070 new)
Judy wrote: "i am 61 years old and have read since i was 4. i lost the centaral vision in my left eye about 10 years ago, now i am losing it in the right...i read never less than a book a week, usually 2, but n..."Thomas wrote: "Elise wrote: "When you loan a paperback book to a friend and you get it back with the spine creased and you want to kill them, but they are still your friend, so you are torn (so you just hit them ..."
Judy wrote: "i am 61 years old and have read since i was 4. i lost the centaral vision in my left eye about 10 years ago, now i am losing it in the right...i read never less than a book a week, usually 2, but n..."
Ahhh, Dear Heart! If I could come and read aloud to you, I would.......
Your family actively trying to distract you when you have ten pages left and the campfire is dying down.
Judy wrote: "i am 61 years old and have read since i was 4. i lost the centaral vision in my left eye about 10 years ago, now i am losing it in the right...i read never less than a book a week, usually 2, but n..."I feel for you Judy! Like you I started reading at 4 and read one or 2 books a week. My eyesight has deteriorated I found that an e-reader helped enormously as I can make the print size as large as I want. Like you I don't like audiobooks - it all sounds so wrong. . The idea of not being able to read is just mortifying! I hope you can find a way to continue reading for many years to come!
Love these, pretty sure I've experienced them all, totally dropped a book on my face, and regularly have my hand freeze in winter time when I'm reading in bed :)
#1, #3, #14, and #20, most definitely. It's an addiction.#10 actually happened to my oldest brother - when he was in high school he tried to read a book while taking a shower. It didn't work. Heh.
i used to have a three bedroom house... now i have a two bedroom and a library... the library is running out of room, the shelves once half filled, now push away the empty bourbon bottles that once kept them divided and seperate, each series tucked away between wood and glass, up the bottles now go to the top as the series and single novels surge together, the empty decorative spaces now dying one by one... the second bedroom trembles in worry about its existence... for it is only a matter of time...
Or when someone asks you, "What's your favorite book?" That's like asking which is my favorite kid!!! I like so many, for so many different reasons! I can't choose just 1!!!!!?
I thought of one: When your busy reading but you need to pee. But you're busy reading yet you need to pee, yet you're reading but you have to pee!
Elise wrote: "When you loan a paperback book to a friend and you get it back with the spine creased and you want to kill them, but they are still your friend, so you are torn (so you just hit them with the book ..."So true! When I loan a book to my friend, this is how the conversation goes:
Me: You will be careful,wont you?
Friend:Yes. I'll treat it like your baby.
Me: It IS my baby. Don't you dare crack the spine-
Friend:You've already said that. About twenty times already.
Me(not listening):-actually, don't open the book over a 45 degree angle at all. Yeah. That'll work.
Friend:How am I supposed to read if I'm not allowed to open the book?
Me: Cope. Also, don't dare dog-ear the pages.
Friend(sighs):Yes, mother. Now are you done?
Me: not even started. Lets see- you're not allowed to write on the pages, read while eating-you always get stuff on it- and read while in the tub. Also, no dog-earing. Did I mention that?
Friend(rolls eyes): Yes, you mentioned that.
Me: and one more thing-
Friend: YES! NOW DO YOU WANT ME TO READ THIS BOOK OR NOT?
Me(surprised): why are you yelling at me? Youre the one who asked for the book.
*that moment when someone goes, so which book would you suggest i start with...(in this category)* ....and you're thinking, but not saying because you attempt to have some civility "get some paper and a pen and sit your uncultured *ss down you poor poor b*stard..."
How about having to choose between two book series but its hard because they're both long and will take you a while to read.
Having to index all next years reads by publication date so you can put them on hold at the library before the list gets too long..
Judy wrote: "i am 61 years old and have read since i was 4. i lost the centaral vision in my left eye about 10 years ago, now i am losing it in the right...i read never less than a book a week, usually 2, but n..."You might ought to consider getting a tablet. You can change the background, font size and adjust things to your liking.
I love these list. Number 4 kept happening to me today. I have dropped a book on my face twice. They were hardbacks too lol.
I can relate to almost all of these. I feel like my life was described to me.
Wanting to watch a movie adaptation of a book you loved, only to be disappointed, cause it won't happen..
Judy wrote: "i am 61 years old and have read since i was 4. i lost the centaral vision in my left eye about 10 years ago, now i am losing it in the right...i read never less than a book a week, usually 2, but n..."Get a e-reader. You can change the font to a size that you can see. I make the font bigger so I can read while on the treadmill or elliptical.
Though you finished the book the day after you borrowed it from the library, you wait until the last day to return it because it was just so wonderful you like just looking at it...
These are soooooo ME! The dilemmas...can relate!
This relates to me: "Being forced to stop reading by other obligations, but choosing to ignore those obligations. Then getting in trouble."
That actually happened like a few minutes ago. Had to do the dishes, but was on the best part of the book.
Getting frustrated when the author kills one of the main characters.
Diane wrote: "Getting frustrated when the author kills one of the main characters."Or not even the main character but your favorite.
Diane wrote: "Getting frustrated when the author kills one of the main characters."Yeah! I get so worked up, and my Mom and Brother just look at me like i'm crazy.
Ava wrote: "My reading list is longer than my lifespan" I can relate.
When I'm reading a great story and some dimwit sees imaginary grammar mistakes they opt to correct in pen. I have to control the incessant gnawing dragon eating away at my brain, ready to unleash its wrath upon the unsuspecting S.T.U.P.I.D. library customer before me. And then I remember I don't know their phone number and can't give them a short grammar lesson.
Sarah wrote: "Thank God for Kindles! Eliminated the need to be sure I grabbed enough books before work or whatever else was going on. With the right case, reading in the bath is super easy! Not having to worry a..."I feel the same way.
Oh My Gosh! ...so relatable. This list describes me as a whole. And...
...That moment when your crying because a book and the people are just staring at you like you're a crazy person.
...When you're reading and someone keeps bugging you.
...When someone says, "You've been reading for three hours...you can take a little break." and you just look at them.
21. Carrying your ebook reader everywhere you go. 22. When that twist is winding, you find your hand and neck stiff coz you were sitting like statue for so long.
23. Going school/ office wondering all the way "what'd happen Nextel?"
When you decide where you're moving based on how big the fantasy and sci-fi section of the local library is. Also, when you can't stop yourself from telling a stranger in a bookstore how much they're going to enjoy the book they just picked up. But instead, they think you're hitting on them.
When you're taking in the scent of papery goodness at your favorite library and you realize a patron needs help and nobody's around. Being the nice reader with a degree in English and the start of a Library Science Masters, you help them find their book and are instantly swarmed by people that think you work there. And then you wonder if it's because of your stellar brain, or the fact that you're wearing glasses and look a bit eccentric.
Forgot the cord to recharge my ereader.
Inkweaver wrote: "Living in a town where no one reads at all! I'm slowly dying from the loneliness..."I know the feeling.
Living with people who don't understand your need to cry when your favorite character dies.
Kevin wrote: ""Carrying your ereader everywhere you go" is me in a nutshell."Yes.
Falling alseep or nodding off while reading and losing your place
Book wrote: "Living with people who don't understand your need to cry when your favorite character dies."Oh My Gosh, yes. All. The. Time. It's kind of sad.
they forgot not having enough money to buy books and pay the bills :(
Warren wrote: "they forgot not having enough money to buy books and pay the bills :("Yeah, there's that too.
A book you've been waiting for has been released, but your parents wont buy it for you.In these cases I just buy it without my fathers permission. It's wrong, but I don't give a beavers Damn if I've been waiting for the book for a year. ; )
#8 and #19 definitely. Also being the only person to read a certain book and not being able to discuss it with ANYONE you know.
It is a lump of foam cut to the thickness of the mattress, stuck on to a piece of smooth board, long enough to slide under the mattress. I covered the foam to match the room. It looks fine and really does help me.