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20 Problems Only Book Lovers Understand
Non-bibliophiles don't always feel your pain…but you're among friends here! We asked on Facebook and Twitter: What's a problem only book lovers understand? We got more than 1,000 amazing responses. Check out some of our favorites and share your own bookish struggles in the comments.
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
Don't see your reader-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.
Check out more recent blogs:
7 Great Books Hitting Shelves This Week
Your Most Successful Book Club Picks
Readers to the Rescue: Your Best Book Club Tips
(Top image credit: Illustration by Quentin Blake for Roald Dahl's Matilda.)
Comments Showing 451-500 of 922 (922 new)
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Menion
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Mar 16, 2017 10:23AM
They forgot one-attempting to read in bed and the cats keep rubbing up against your book, then they walk in-between you and your book, and keep doing it!
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I suffer from them all. I have a particular problem with #5 The Book Hangover. When that happens I try a hair of the dog cure by reading every thing else I can find from the same author. The problem with that is it creates The Author Hangover.
Agonizing over my packing for a business trip because I can't decide which books I might be in the mood to read that week. (Is four books really too many?)Waking up in the morning sitting up in bed with the light on, the glasses on my nose and the open book in my lap.
Trying to explain to people that the commuter train is a better choice even though it takes longer. (Two hours of undisturbed reading time each day, smaller carbon footprint, and walking to and from the train station counts as exercise!)
☆☽ Ruth ☆☽ wrote: "Buying a Kindle because there just isn't enough luggage allowance on aircraft to accommodate all the books I want to take!!"Oh, yes.
Souhaila wrote: "being obliged to continue reading a book even though it bores you to death but not being able to stop because you HAVE to finish every book!"Thank goodness I'm not the only one!
Numbers 4, 8, 11, 12, 16, and 19 are all common problems for me. :P Also, checking out way too many books from the library at once... Heh.
I am guilty of all but especially 1,2,5,11 and 20.
When every single one of your Library "holds" comes in on the same day and you don't know where to begin reading. (true story...this happened today)
Matthew wrote: "I might be the only weirdo with this issue. When I cannot get to the end of a chapter, I always like to read until there is a page that a sentence ends on. I look ahead to the page and shoot for th..."I do the same thing, Matthew. It makes it easy for me to remember where exactly I stopped.
Alissa wrote: "When every single one of your Library "holds" comes in on the same day and you don't know where to begin reading. (true story...this happened today)"This happens to me ALL the time! And, inevitably, I'm forced to choose and return some unread because with work and stuff, there's no way I can read seven books in three weeks and/or a bad string of reviews just throws me off and I go looking for others to add to my ever growing to-read shelf, which just compounds the problem. Ugh.
21. Reading a book, loving it, writing a long review on Goodreads, forwarding it to all of your friends, and no one saying anything about it.22. Reading a book in an incomprehensible translation, and then when finished discovering a much better translation, and then rereading it anyway.
23. This happened to me - reading an old two volume book, but not knowing that there was a second volume, and wondering for a month why the book seemed to end right in the middle of all the action.
24. Reading an old book with it barely open because you are afraid of cracking the spine because all the pages will fall out.
25. Learning the meaning of previously common words like "rill" and "kine" that you will never use in real life.
"Dying to read a book but there all libraries in the region that have there copies lent out."
Felicia wrote: "I have no shame in saying I suffer from all the above-stated problems."Same here !
I also keep adding new books to my to-read list and I search all kind of new books on Goodreads, even though I have a lot to read :)
Dorothy wrote: "No, it isn't just you and yes, it is a distraction.I don't read e-books but my similar experience has been with print editions: typos, misspelled words or words whose spelling conveys a different meaning than intended. You gotta wonder, where are the copy editors? Spellcheck? I never used to see this kind of thing. "
Spellcheck doesn't help if the word in the text is a legitimate word, such as confusing then/than, their/there, etc. Copy editing and proofreading seem to be dying disciplines. *SIGH*
Lisa-Jaine wrote: "Linda wrote: "Lisa-Jaine wrote: "My problem is I ran out of space on my kindle for all my e-books, ..."You ran out of space on your Kindle?! Wow! How many books ...? (Never mind, I'd just get jea..."
I was right -- I am DEFINITELY jealous!
Vanessa wrote: "Going to the library and finding out they have the first 2 books in a trilogy but DONT HAVE THE LAST ONE!!!!"this is one of the worst!
I have no problem with reading while eating...I have perfected the art of eating onehanded, while holding the book in one hand (preferably paperback!!). Use fingers one, three, and thumb. Voila!! Oh, all the other problems....oh yeah. I suffer, oh I suffer!!
Vanessa wrote: "Going to the library and finding out they have the first 2 books in a trilogy but DONT HAVE THE LAST ONE!!!!"Even worse for me is finding they have books 2 and 3, etc., of a highly recommended series, but not book 1!!!!
Linda wrote: "I haven't seen this problem mentioned yet, so maybe it's just me ...I'll be reading along (usually an ebook) and I'll be distracted by a misspelled word, or missing/misused punctuation, etc., and..."
Not just you. I lose respect for the author as well if there are too many, which I realise is kind of unfair but still.
Wendy wrote: "Having 460 books marked as "to read"...."Today, this minute, I have 3,540 on the TBR list, including Owned, Kindle, (Local) Library, Other Library, and Not At Library (unreleased or currently out of print). That's about a 15-20 year backlog.
Linda wrote: "Wendy wrote: "Having 460 books marked as "to read"...."Today, this minute, I have 3,540 on the TBR list, including Owned, Kindle, (Local) Library, Other Library, and Not At Library (unreleased or..."
Guinnes Book, right now!
Charles wrote: "Linda wrote: "I haven't seen this problem mentioned yet, so maybe it's just me ...I'll be reading along (usually an ebook) and I'll be distracted by a misspelled word, or missing/misused punctuat..."
I notice every little typo and as you say too many just ruins the reading flow
Moira wrote: "Vanessa wrote: "Going to the library and finding out they have the first 2 books in a trilogy but DONT HAVE THE LAST ONE!!!!"Even worse for me is finding they have books 2 and 3, etc., of a highly..."
That vex's me as well. The stupid staff weeds the first book because of various reasons So when the poor patron wants to start at the beginning they can't. Always warned staff of this, but do they listen? No1
Lisa-Jaine wrote: "Charles wrote: "Linda wrote: "I haven't seen this problem mentioned yet, so maybe it's just me ...I'll be reading along (usually an ebook) and I'll be distracted by a misspelled word, or missing/..."
I understand completely. Years ago I used to proofread/edit scientific papers before they were sent off to journals for my boss. It has unfortunately made me super sensitive to punctuation & grammatical errors. I few weeks ago I got halfway through books two in a series by a new author; I just had to stop reading cuz it was driving me nuts.
Len wrote: "Years ago I used to proofread/edit scientific papers before they were sent off to journals for my boss. It has unfortunately made me super sensitive to punctuation & grammatical errors. I few weeks ago I got halfway through books two in a series by a new author; I just had to stop reading cuz it was driving me nuts."And the sad thing about that is, you will probably never try another book by the same author, even if he/she starts working with a decent copy editor. First impressions do count.
Len wrote: "Lisa-Jaine wrote: "Charles wrote: "Linda wrote: "I haven't seen this problem mentioned yet, so maybe it's just me ...I'll be reading along (usually an ebook) and I'll be distracted by a misspelle..."
Oh the irony.
"I few weeks ago I got halfway through books two"
People pack books with them when they go on a trip?I never do that. I buy books in the destination, and then lug them back home with me. Which is also a problem, because airlines tend to charge insane amounts for doing that...
Aidan wrote: "People pack books with them when they go on a trip?I never do that. I buy books in the destination, and then lug them back home with me. Which is also a problem, because airlines tend to charge i..."
Back in 1986, my parents and I were going on an 11-day trip to New Zealand and Australia. I figured one book per day, so put 11 paperback books into my carry-on. By the time we landed in Auckland, after a 19-hour flight, I had already finished nine of them. I did buy a volume in the Poldark Saga while we were in Sydney -- I think it was The Twisted Sword, but after 30 years, I cannot be absolutely certain.
Now avid bibliophiles can just tuck a Kindle or Nook into their purse/briefcase, and have a veritable library at their fingertips! Of course, Aidan, you can still buy the ink-and-paper versions, but there are those pesky baggage charges ...
Leah wrote: "cindy wrote: "3, 7, 15. Those are my demons.Oh, and 13, when they finally returned it, but with dog ears, food stains or worst, cracked spine. :("
Yesss!! People don't understand that cracked spin..."
If i lend anyone a book, they basically get a contract.. lol they are told what my rules are for my books in detail. I'm very strict with my rules for my books, the only person I wouldn't be mad at is my mom because she pays for a lot of them and would replace my book if she messed it up
Charles wrote: "Len wrote: "Lisa-Jaine wrote: "Charles wrote: "Linda wrote: "I haven't seen this problem mentioned yet, so maybe it's just me ...I'll be reading along (usually an ebook) and I'll be distracted by..."
Truly ironic though as far as I know I'm not getting paid for people reading this... however the author published those 2 books and I paid to read them. The first was hard as hell to finish and I gave the author the benefit of the doubt that maybe it was his very first book. But the 2nd book was even worse. It would be considerate if even first time authors would at least have their friends proofread their work.
Linda wrote: "Wendy wrote: "Having 460 books marked as "to read"...."Today, this minute, I have 3,540 on the TBR list, including Owned, Kindle, (Local) Library, Other Library, and Not At Library (unreleased or..."
Unfortunately my "to read" list is just from the last year, just foreign language and just at goodreads.... we should add another 24 hours at each day ;-)
Igor wrote: "Linda wrote: "Wendy wrote: "Having 460 books marked as "to read"...."Today, this minute, I have 3,540 on the TBR list, including Owned, Kindle, (Local) Library, Other Library, and Not At Library ..."
This makes me feel better about my 850 books on my TBR.
I've been suffering from almost all problems mentioned above.
Felicia wrote: "I have no shame in saying I suffer from all the above-stated problems."Good I am not alone right here :/
Krista wrote: "Linda wrote: "How about when you are eager for the next book in a series to come out and the writer seems to be taking F-O-R-E-V-E-R to produce it? I'm referring specifically to Ebon, the sequel to..."I refuse to read Pegasus until she finishes the next book(s). I hate cliff hanger endings!
Wow! So many comments! I can only add:Being forced to downsize, and going into mourning when you are forced to get rid of all the books you've been collecting your whole life, even though you know you'll never read them again.
NEEDING to collect all the books in a series, even though you lost interest in the character/story line two books ago.
People who keep your book and swear they returned it.
Reading Faerie wrote: "#1, #6, and #10--so me. #7 made me laugh out loud--been there, too.I'd like to add: When you are choosing a book to re-read; trying to decide which imaginary world you want to re-visit. :)"
Yes. Yes. Yes!
Where are the problems? Just life as it is. Except maybe the need to ask the endlessly repeated question, standing in your library or home, which in fact are different words for the same reality: "Did you read them all ?" That's a problem non-readers don't understand, but readers do, having given up trying to give one or more of the abundant answers book lovers can give for any given audience.
No place to sit on the sofa,, because its full of books. (Other non-shelf furniture is likewise covered.)
Not having enough wall space for the extra bookshelves you NEED!
All of these. Also never being able to return books to the library on time. Being required to act as the family librarian and pick out books for someone, who then promptly asks why all my books are about nazi Germany (well, you know, that's what I study), and why don't I have more thrillers in French (because translations are usually damn terrible). Just read the frikkin books I pick out for you, damn it.
""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"So me!!!!
totally agreed with point no 5. Moving on to the new book is always difficult.
I always want to buy the book when it's released for the new book feel. Sometimes my husband thinks it would be better to save money and just check it out from the library instead. Yeah, you try waiting four months for a hold to finally arrive! It's awful! Sometimes I just buy the book anyway, even though I might only read it once and then shelve it. I've run out of shelve space. I've got books all over!
When you come back to the reality from a book fantasyland and figure out you've nonchalantly promised something stupid. Not fun.
Laura wrote: "I have a few to add: - Wanting to continue your book but you really can't because student responsibilities and deadlines
- 1 word: READING SLUMP
- Going on goodreads to look up a book someone re..."
I can totally agree with you. I wish we were understood that books teach us a lot more than school and it is our right to have enough books that we love eithin our reach :D.
Yup! #'s 03, 12, 14, 15 & 20 could be from my life!!!
I feel the opposite about 11. Movie tie in books only come out once making them rarer and specialerer
