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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 651-700 of 922 (922 new)
message 651:
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Hannah D.
(new)
Mar 22, 2017 04:47PM
One of my book problems is that if I find a good book, sometimes I don't want to finish it just because then I have to wait until the next book arrives.
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One of my big problems in reading a book is to remember the difference between reading on paper and reading on tablet ...
Antonio wrote: "One of my big problems in reading a book is to remember the difference between reading on paper and reading on tablet ..."Oh yes, on the tablet you can put you finger on a word and get the meaning. Cannot say how many times I have done that with a paper book and wondered why the definition was not coming up. then I realize what I did and look around guiltily to see if anyone saw me do that.
JoAnn wrote: "Antonio wrote: "One of my big problems in reading a book is to remember the difference between reading on paper and reading on tablet ..."Oh yes, on the tablet you can put you finger on a word and..."
Ha, Ha, Ha!!! Brilliant!
"...the difference between reading on paper and reading on tablet..." sometimes I reach up to the corner to turn the page on the tablet! Old habits die hard.
Because addicted to freebie Kindle books and having so many that I now find it difficult to find WHAT I want to read!
Linda wrote: "Hadia wrote: "all the points above are on the spot!, and I agree, no truer words were ever said. Feeling sad for people who don't really exist is actual trauma that only readers can truly understan..."sometimes, you love the character so much that you WANT it to exist.
My to-read list is growing faster than my read list! Too many books, so little time!
Jasmine wrote: "My to-read list is growing faster than my read list! Too many books, so little time!"I have the same syndrome. But it's not bad. Over time I've put together a nice little library of books TBR. It's great having all that variety right there in the house. Very convenient.
Grace wrote: "Jasmine wrote: "My to-read list is growing faster than my read list! Too many books, so little time!"I have the same syndrome. But it's not bad. Over time I've put together a nice little library ..."
Sometimes I will buy books, and not read them until several years later. I bought Jude the Obscure a few years ago, and only just read it. Great read, though!
All of the 20 but the bath tub one. Sometimes I have read a book and gotten so involved with the characters that it's on my mind for days after I have finished.
And now for something completely different, but very much on topic:I am a heterosexual post puberty male with internet access, and I am fairly certain I fit in the majority of that set of people in that I have spent some time viewing pictures of beautiful naked women on the internet. Occasianally there are shelves of books in the background, and book titles and/or authors are decipherable.
In such cases I cannot resist checking out which books I have read, which authors I have read. At least 90% of my attention goes to the books no matter how lovely the gal is. So far reading taste of the bookshelf owner has not been issue, and often I have not only read several of these books but most of them were pretty good. Is this a fetish, and if so is it a sexual one? Girls who wear glasses, because they read too much, may not get passes from the majority, but ...
Well No. 18 can be fixed with Kindle... Love my #Kindle
" When you can't read your book at work, and you download the ebook.......":)
Yes to all of these! Also buying the same book twice because you can't remember if you've read it before or not and realising halfway through that you have (this is what led me to start using Goodreads).And re: number 7 - having to read the whole series again before the new one comes out so you remember what happened before. Not that I'm doing this right now or anything...
Having to resist street vendors everyday as I walk home but the worst is probably getting so immersed in another world that this one stops being interesting and you can't wait for your next break so that you can get back in the book world.
Yep, but a new one: when you are told to read a book for your English class and it isn't a good one so you put it off until the last possible moment and then your English teacher gets grumpy because 'you read it too fast...'. Sorry - long story:)Also when people / little brothers don't understand that it does matter if they borrow a book and return it with the spine is cracked or the page is smudged or they left in in a school bag for a week under their drink bottle...
Tammy wrote: "My other comment is needing to have all the book covers of your favourite book, resulting in multiple copies of the same book. Also, the book covers in a series need to match, so when they change t..."YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Or when you have the whole series bar one and your grandma says that she'll buy you the one that you're missing and then buys the wrong cover...
Mysgydid wrote: "Do Your Reading wrote: "My problem is starting too many books at the same time because I'll be in the middle of a good book but find something else that is so much more interesting that I have to s..."I used to read about 5 books at the same time and then as I started reading more complex books I found it so hard to keep track and started only reading one at a time.
Problems that apply to me: All of them. Well, except for #10 (never tried reading in a bath) and #11 (never ordered a book online).
When your favourite auther brings out a new book but you have no money that day to buy it. Or when your reading two books at a time and you get mixed up on whqt the plots are.
Also when you really want to read in bed but your arms are to tired to hold your phone up to read on the kindle app.
Not being able to start a new book on time, because you're so involved in the last one.
I buy the whole series and then read them. It does mean a long wait but at least i can remember the plot once started.
Riding your bicycle into the back of parked cars, because you're holding a book open on the handlebars with your thumbs, reading while riding home from the library.
Oh my gosh. ALL of these apply to me! I hate when people tell me I can't read and walk at the same time. When you've mastered the art, you've nothing to fear.
This might only be specific to me, but I'll share it anyway. I have Trigeminal Neuralgia and any brain/physical activity makes me really painful, this includes reading. So my problem is wanting to read for the whole day or night but only being able to read 10-15 minute intervals before my face is in too much pain.
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. :("
I once loaned a friend my copy of "The Princess Bride" in high school and she returned it in a baggie because her brother had ripped off the cover. Now I only loan out books if I don't care about getting them back.
People asking "what are you reading?" And then making you talk to them about how they don't read instead of letting you read.
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. :("
Also for me, being in school and having to watch people put down books open face down so the spine is bent.
Beth wrote: "Knowing something bad is going to happen to your favorite character(s), so you close the book so you don't have to experience it with them, and then leave the book unfinished for a long time becaus..."Yes! That's me all the time.
I suffer from "end of book depression". Im always depressed for a while after reading a good book. Even if the endingiss happy! At the end of a good series, I'm inconsolable. Its like having to say goodbye to close friends and family. I have to properly mourn before I can start rhe next book.
I hate it when someone finds out I read a lot and they tell me I absolutely HAVE TO read this book they are currently reading. And it's a really boring one I wouldn't ever touch. Like one about train spotting in upper North Suffolk. Or they say you have to read this book and then press the book into your hands. My to-read list is over 200 books long and I am not going to have someone dictate to me which book I must read next and then harass me as to whether I have "read it yet" every time I see them. I just return those books and say "Thank you, but I have other priorities on my reading list at the moment. I'd love to borrow it some other time.".
We've just laid new carpet, which means that we had to empty all the bookshelves in the living room. Started reloading the bookshelves, but my partner insisted we do this mindfully - do we really want each and every book? Ended up trying to read them all - some 500 or 600 of them ...
Falling to sleep from sheer exhaustion while reading despite the fact that you want to keep reading...
re: movie covers. My favorite response to this I have seen is I bought a used copy of The Unbearable Lightness of Being, and I guess it had a movie cover because the previous owner had just straight up covered everything but the title and author with masking tape.
Noemi wrote: "re: movie covers. My favorite response to this I have seen is I bought a used copy of The Unbearable Lightness of Being, and I guess it had a movie cover because the previous owner had just straigh..."Well that's certainly one solution. XD
I relate with 90% of the 20. Not enough room for books, I own far more than I'll probably ever get to read, but I keep on buying more. Reading too many books at the same time. Yep...definitely want all my books in a series to be the same publishing covers, same size Mass Market, hardcover or paperback. I LOVE a physical book so very much more than my Kindle books, just not the same at all. However it travels nicely.
This is about me.. I can relate to almost all of these. I don't mind much about # 11 and # 18...... I prefer real books, but an e-reader is a good option....that way you can fit thousands of books in your handbag or suitcase.
Trying to get the whole series and end up with some paper back and some hard back.
#8#18#19 can be fixed with kindle/ereader etc. The only downside of electronic books is not being able to say "this is a fabulous book, I think you'll really enjoy it, let me hand you the book".
I am the biggest offender of #1...in fact...I buy more books than I read. I think I have more an obsession of buying than reading! Lisa
https://thebookbags.wordpress.com/
Steven wrote: "I too suffer from most of the mentioned problems, most notably lack of shelf space. We have remodeled twice now to increase shelf space. Now we either need another, major remodel or a move to an al..."I have the same issues. Remodeled twice and still out of room. Also, the smell and heft of a book could NEVER be replaced in my eyes. Yes I own a kindle, but only because of kindle unlimited..... I would be in debt just over reading if not for that little perk.
How about reading books that your friends haven't read, so your only emotional support is writing a book review in all caps?
David wrote: "When someone asks, "What are you reading now?" and you wonder which of the three books to tell them about.Or, you tell them about all three, and watch their eyes glaze over..."
I was just asked that and she said "only tell me about 1, not 6" lol
*getting sad when you finish a series because you know that you will never have another adventure with the characters.
