So many books, so little time! Do you find yourself muttering these words
as you browse the shelves in a library or a bookstore? Rest assured, you
are not alone in your love of books. It was the Dutch writer Desiderius
Erasmus who once said, "When I get a little money I buy books; and if any
is left I buy food and clothes." This fondness for books subsumes a wide
range. At the extreme, books have been ascribed as the motive behind murders
(Don Vicente, a Spaniard killed as many as eight people to acquire a book in
1836), and there have been thieves who steal only books (Stephen Blumberg
of the US, stole precious books worth millions of dollars from hundreds of
university libraries during the 1970s and 80s, all for his own pleasure, not
for resale).

While we can't arrange them in a scientific table reflecting severity, this
week's progression presents words in increasing order of affinity for books.
Finally, to round things out, at the end we'll feature a couple of words for
people who don't share that love. So leaf through this week's words and feel
free to talk about where your bibliomania falls within this spectrum.