Abibliophobia

I knew there had to be a word for my condition,well, aside from acrophobia (fear of heights) and claustrophobia (fear of enclosed spaces). And what does this wonderful word mean? It is the fear of running out of reading material. I was talking with a friend who is one of the few people I've met who reads as much as I do (we are constantly adding to each other's reading lists) and I asked her if she is ever bothered by the idea of finishing a book and not having a new one to immediately start. We had a moment of bonding when we realized that we both shared this little pathology... one that a few of my children share as well.

It is why I often check out 8 - 10 books at the library at a time, often of vastly different subject matter, because you just don't know what you're going to feel like when you're ready to start a new book. In fact, when I get down to just two books on the shelf that I haven't read, I start getting a little nervous and begin wondering if I will be able to get to the library in time. It's even worse if we are going on a trip. What could be worse than going on a trip and running out of books? It's why I found myself having to choose from a vastly limited selection of English books in a bookstore in Hanoi one time. (I settled on King Solomon's Mines, which turned out to be a lot of fun.) Someday I'll have to write on update on my non-Kindle use, but I will say it still has a place when travelling by plane, when I can't carry pounds and pounds of hardcover books with me like in a car.

I suppose there are worse things to be pathological about, but just imagine my panic if I'm ever trapped in a small elevator at the top of a tall building and my Kindle isn't in my purse.