Let’s Talk Bookish – Book Addicts vs Book Lovers

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme, hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books & Dani @ Literary Lion, where they discuss certain topics, share their opinions, and spread the love by visiting each others’ posts.

FEBRUARY 25: THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BOOKS ADDICTS AND BOOK LOVERS (JILLIAN @ JILLIAN THE BOOKISH BUTTERFLY)

Prompts: First of all, how do you define a book addict and a book lover? Which one are you? What are the differences between the two? Do you think that being a book addict is harmful for a person? Are there merits to being a book addict vs a book lover?

Welcome to the last LTB of February, everyone! This month (which I know is naturally short) has just felt incredibly quick. But as the weather warms up, I can only hope that spring approaches. Digressions aside, an interesting topic today, and one that I haven’t thought about previously. Looking forward to what you all have to add in response!

Both of these terms sound similar to me. The first question that I think about when it comes to such comparisons is: is one actually a subcategory of the other? Are all book addicts book lovers? Or are all book lovers book addicts? At first glance, I want to say that all book addicts must be book lovers—or at least I would hope so. Otherwise it just sounds like a bit of Stockholm syndrome.

I hope I myself am not a book addict. Book-buying addict though? Possibly. But for me, a book addict would be someone who always has their nose in a book (Belle from Beauty and the Beast, maybe?) and perhaps ignores their surroundings a bit too much, moving beyond the border of book lover into book addict territory. I think the word addict insinuates that there’s some level of unhealthy attachment to books. I admit that sometimes I can ignore food or social interactions to finish a book, but I’m not sure that necessarily constitutes addiction.

In general, I haven’t really met someone who absolutely isn’t able to put down a book. And if you are able to make that choice and put it down, that constitutes control over your addiction, right? I’ve never found myself accusing anyone of being a book addict either, so I haven’t really seen someone with that much of an unhealthy relationship with books. Again, if the book lover/addict distinction is talking more about book buying, I think a lot more of us would fall into that (guilty) category.

I would love for everyone to be a book lover. While our community here is great, there are so many others who don’t appreciate books. I am a firm believer that there really is a type of book for everyone. Some love non-fiction, some love self-help books, maybe others only enjoy cookbooks, but I am almost certain that there is something for everyone, if you’re only willing to look out for it. So yeah, I think there are merits to being a book lover for sure! As for book addict, assuming it is just perhaps something along the lines of book fanatic, assuming a healthy relationship with your habits, I think is still perfectly acceptable.

What do you all think about the distinction between these two terms? Have I totally misinterpreted by thinking it’s related to reading? Is it much more related to purchasing? Let me know what you all think in the comments below!

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