Self-Test for Literature abuse

Quote:

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Originally Posted by den

:D I had great joy in throwing a copy of Moby Dick off an apartment buildings' roof downtown Toronto once... but this was only because the crappy glue that was supporting the spine had degenrated so much every time you turned a page it came out in your hand, so the hell with it I thought, fine, let the pages flutter down on people and they can fight their way through just one page of that tome.... :P

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That must have been wonderful! I imagine it as some kinf od 'liberating' (if the word exists) feeling...

"Still, it's the heaviest of all these volumes, and thus, in hardcover at least, could undoubtedly be used to stun a burglar; which has always been my definition of real art."
- Neil Gaiman, epilogue to The Kindly Ones

Quote:

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Originally Posted by den

From http://toniaizu.home.netcom.com/d09.html

1. I have read fiction when I was depressed or to cheer myself up.
2. I have gone on reading binges of an entire book or more in a day.
3. I read rapidly, often "gulping" chapters.
4. I sometimes read early in the morning or before work.
5. I have hidden books in different places to sneak a chapter without being seen.
6. Sometimes I avoid friends or family obligations in order to read novels.
7. Sometimes I re-write film or television dialog as the characters speak.
8. I often read alone.
9. I have pretended to watch television while secretly reading.
10. I keep books or magazines in the bathroom for a "quick nip."
11. I have denied or "laughed off" criticism of my reading habit.
12. Heavy reading has caused conflicts with my family or spouse.
13. I am unable to enjoy myself with others unless there is a book nearby.
14. I seldom leave my house without a book or magazine.
15. When travelling, I pack a large bag full of books.
16. At a party, I will often slip off unnoticed to read.
17. Reading has made me seek haunts and companions which I would otherwise avoid.
18. I have neglected personal hygiene or household chores until I finished a novel.
19. I become nervous, disoriented, or fearful when I must spend more than 15 minutes without reading matter.
20. I have spent money meant for necessities on books instead.
21. I have sold books to support my reading "habit."
22. I have daydreamed about becoming a rich & famous writer, or "word-pusher."
23. I have attempted to check out more library books than is permitted.
24. Most of my friends are heavy fiction readers.
25. I have sometimes passed out or woken groggy or "hung-over" after a night of heavy reading.
26. I have suffered 'blackouts' or memory loss from a bout of reading.
27. I have wept, become angry or irrational because of something I read.
28. I have sometimes wished I did not read so much.
29. Sometimes I think my fiction reading is out of control.

If you answered 'yes' to five or more of these questions, you may be a literature abuser.

Affirmative responses to ten or more indicates a serious reading problem --seek help now!

Fifteen or more "yes" responses indicates a severe or chronic "readaholic" personality. Intervention is seldom effective at this stage.

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I said NO to:

#3 I don't read rapidly (although that would depend on the book)

#9 I rarely watch TV but when I do, it is usually because there is something I want to watch so I pay attention.

#11 I don't deny my geeky status; quite proud of it actually. Geeks of the world, unite!

#16 I like socialising so if I am a party, I will make best of it.

#18 Not personal hygiene but I have neglected chores.

#20 I usually get my books for free from those wonderful places called libraries.

#21 Ditto.

#24 Unfortunately, most of my friends are casual readers, which explains why I spend so much time on this Forum.


Guess, I am a 'readaholic'... and proud of it! :D

gulp
I only said no to 24 & 28
and 19 is sort of its more like two days before I cant sleep without having nightmares
so actually no to 3 out of 29
as for 24 not many of my friends bother reading at all
and 28 why would i want to read less?

Said no to:

7. Rewriting TV dialogue sounds like more of a television obsession problem than a reading problem...

11. No one has ever criticized my reading habits, that I can recall, but even if they did, why deny it??

12. Real people always come before books. Well... real people you like, anyway. :D

13. See above comment.

16. And again, see above. :) Which doesn't mean I haven't wanted to, on occasion...

17. Does this Lit Forum count as a haunt?? ;) I'd be here anyway. :D

19. I become nervous, disoriented, or fearful whenever there are ferocious animals in the room. :p

21. Isn't selling books to support a reading habit rather contradictory...?

23. No limit on library books where I come from!

24. Most of my friends are slackers.

26. Does time running away count as a "blackout?"

28. I have only wished there were more hours in the day so I could do all my reading and still get other stuff done! (Like my thesis...)

29. Nah. I've put a temporary (very sad) hold on my fiction reading until I do all the non-fiction reading I'm supposed to be doing. Bleh. It's gonna be a busy catch-up summer!

1. I have read fiction when I was depressed or to cheer myself up. Yes.
2. I have gone on reading binges of an entire book or more in a day. Yes.
3. I read rapidly, often "gulping" chapters. No.
4. I sometimes read early in the morning or before work. Yes.
5. I have hidden books in different places to sneak a chapter without being seen. No.
6. Sometimes I avoid friends or family obligations in order to read novels. Yes.
7. Sometimes I re-write film or television dialog as the characters speak. No.
8. I often read alone. Yes.
9. I have pretended to watch television while secretly reading. Yes.
10. I keep books or magazines in the bathroom for a "quick nip." No.
11. I have denied or "laughed off" criticism of my reading habit. Yes.
12. Heavy reading has caused conflicts with my family or spouse. No.
13. I am unable to enjoy myself with others unless there is a book nearby. No.
14. I seldom leave my house without a book or magazine. Yes.
15. When travelling, I pack a large bag full of books. Yes.
16. At a party, I will often slip off unnoticed to read. No.
17. Reading has made me seek haunts and companions which I would otherwise avoid. Yes. :lol: I can see where this goes . . .
18. I have neglected personal hygiene or household chores until I finished a novel. Yes, *sigh.
19. I become nervous, disoriented, or fearful when I must spend more than 15 minutes without reading matter. No.
20. I have spent money meant for necessities on books instead. Yes.
21. I have sold books to support my reading "habit." Yes.
22. I have daydreamed about becoming a rich & famous writer, or "word-pusher." Yes, but I cannot call it my intention.
23. I have attempted to check out more library books than is permitted. Yes.
24. Most of my friends are heavy fiction readers. Yes.
25. I have sometimes passed out or woken groggy or "hung-over" after a night of heavy reading. No.
26. I have suffered 'blackouts' or memory loss from a bout of reading. No.
27. I have wept, become angry or irrational because of something I read. Yes, on several occasions.
28. I have sometimes wished I did not read so much. Yes.
29. Sometimes I think my fiction reading is out of control. No.

Definitely a readaholic here, *sigh, and truly the first step to healing rests in admitting it . . . time for Readers Anonymous. :p

......guilty........save me a seat at R.A. Mono..........preferably in the back so I can surreptitiously finish this novel.............

1. I have read fiction when I was depressed or to cheer myself up. - Yes
2. I have gone on reading binges of an entire book or more in a day. - Yes
3. I read rapidly, often "gulping" chapters. - Yes
4. I sometimes read early in the morning or before work. - Yes
5. I have hidden books in different places to sneak a chapter without being seen. - Yes!
6. Sometimes I avoid friends or family obligations in order to read novels. - Yes
7. Sometimes I re-write film or television dialog as the characters speak. - No
8. I often read alone. - Yes
9. I have pretended to watch television while secretly reading. - Not exacty secretly, so No
10. I keep books or magazines in the bathroom for a "quick nip." - LOL, no.
11. I have denied or "laughed off" criticism of my reading habit.- Yes
12. Heavy reading has caused conflicts with my family or spouse. - Tell me about it.
13. I am unable to enjoy myself with others unless there is a book nearby. - Nope
14. I seldom leave my house without a book or magazine. - No
15. When travelling, I pack a large bag full of books. - Yes
16. At a party, I will often slip off unnoticed to read. - No
17. Reading has made me seek haunts and companions which I would otherwise avoid. - Yes
18. I have neglected personal hygiene or household chores until I finished a novel. - Yes
19. I become nervous, disoriented, or fearful when I must spend more than 15 minutes without reading matter. - No
20. I have spent money meant for necessities on books instead. - Yes
21. I have sold books to support my reading "habit." - No.
22. I have daydreamed about becoming a rich & famous writer, or "word-pusher." - No
23. I have attempted to check out more library books than is permitted. - No
24. Most of my friends are heavy fiction readers. - No
25. I have sometimes passed out or woken groggy or "hung-over" after a night of heavy reading. - No
26. I have suffered 'blackouts' or memory loss from a bout of reading. - No
27. I have wept, become angry or irrational because of something I read. - Yes
28. I have sometimes wished I did not read so much. - Yes
29. Sometimes I think my fiction reading is out of control. - Yes

The Ayes have it!

[Of to the read the RA manual to help cut-down on my reading time :p]

1. I have read fiction when I was depressed or to cheer myself up. Yes
2. I have gone on reading binges of an entire book or more in a day. YEs
6. Sometimes I avoid friends or family obligations in order to read novels. Yes
7. Sometimes I re-write film or television dialog as the characters speak. Ja
8. I often read alone. YES
9. I have pretended to watch television while secretly reading. Pretended?? i'm blatant. :D
11. I have denied or "laughed off" criticism of my reading habit. Yes !
15. When travelling, I pack a large bag full of books. Heehee, Yes.
16. At a party, I will often slip off unnoticed to read. No, but i would like to.
18. I have neglected personal hygiene or household chores until I finished a novel. On occasion :blush:
20. I have spent money meant for necessities on books instead. Not often, but yeah.
23. I have attempted to check out more library books than is permitted. Yes
27. I have wept, become angry or irrational because of something I read. Yes, yes, naturally!

#1 I have read fiction when I was depressed or to cheer myself up. aye
#2 I have gone on reading binges of an entire book or more in a day. that too
#3 I read rapidly, often "gulping" chapters. sometimes, depends on the book
#4 I sometimes read early in the morning or before work. indeedy
#5 I have hidden books in different places to sneak a chapter without being seen. nope
#6 Sometimes I avoid friends or family obligations in order to read novels. not really
#7 Sometimes I re-write film or television dialog as the characters speak. not anymore :blush:
#8 I often read alone. if you don't count reading while travelling... pretty much
#9 I have pretended to watch television while secretly reading. nope
#10 I keep books or magazines in the bathroom for a "quick nip." not anymore
#11 I have denied or "laughed off" criticism of my reading habit. no one dared to critisize yet :D
#12 Heavy reading has caused conflicts with my family or spouse. nope
#13 I am unable to enjoy myself with others unless there is a book nearby. not really (silly is fun too :D)
#14 I seldom leave my house without a book or magazine. pretty much
#15 When travelling, I pack a large bag full of books. sometimes I need an extra bag just for the books
#16 At a party, I will often slip off unnoticed to read. me? party? riiiight
#17 Reading has made me seek haunts and companions which I would otherwise avoid. seldom, but yup
#18 I have neglected personal hygiene or household chores until I finished a novel. definitely household chores :D
#19 I become nervous, disoriented, or fearful when I must spend more than 15 minutes without reading matter. not really, just don't know what to do :p
#20 I have spent money meant for necessities on books instead. nope
#21 I have sold books to support my reading "habit." not selling my books, forget about it :goof:
#22 I have daydreamed about becoming a rich & famous writer, or "word-pusher." not as far as I can remember (there's this people reading what I write thingy that doesn't agree with me)
#23 I have attempted to check out more library books than is permitted. oh yeah (never works though! :D)
#24 Most of my friends are heavy fiction readers. pretty much
#25 I have sometimes passed out or woken groggy or "hung-over" after a night of heavy reading. well, not passed out but definitely groggy, lol
#26 I have suffered 'blackouts' or memory loss from a bout of reading. not yet
#27 I have wept, become angry or irrational because of something I read. yup
#28 I have sometimes wished I did not read so much. esp while I'm supposed to be reading something else :D
#29 Sometimes I think my fiction reading is out of control. see above :p

Alright, I'm ready for the twelve-step program.

I was at four, so I'm just short of an abuser -_^

Quote:

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Originally Posted by den

Oh yeah great articles in porn huh? :P :D

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actually, apparently PlayBoy has well written articles. lol, if people actually get passed staring at the pictures then I guess it's something good to read. I've never read the articles myself, I just hear it from my English teacher.

......Playboy has articles?........

Playboy published some of the best genre short stories during the seventies and eighties. (Stephen King, Harlan Ellison et al)

And by genre I do not mean erotica.