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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 21 of 21. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by CarolAnn on May 22, 2000, at 9:11:09
I haven't seen this one here, unless I missed it. Anyone else have a reading obsession? For example: I can't begin any novel unless I know that I have time to read the whole thing. I can't stand to stop reading in the middle of a book, even if it isn't very good, I have to finish so I'll know what happened in the end. It seems that not only am I a compulsive over-eater, but I am also a compulsive over-*reader*! I'm also obsessed with magazines. I'll read just about any kind(except sports), probably because I know that at least, with a magazine, I can get all the way thru it in an hour or so.
Anyway, there's a little more of my nuttiness, in a nutshell(so to speak)! CarolAnn
Posted by Noa on May 22, 2000, at 9:46:02
In reply to here's a new one....(obsession), posted by CarolAnn on May 22, 2000, at 9:11:09
Ok, I am going to guess that this compulsive approach to reading has developed recently, right?
My theory? You are the mother of a baby, if I am not mistaken. Therefore, by definition, you must have to guard your uninterrupted personal time. Mothers of young children RARELY have enough continuous time to read substantial portions of a book. With all the picking it up and putting it down, etc., it is easy to get distracted and lose interest. So, hence the obsessive thinking about whether you'll have enough time.
Plus, I believe you have mentioned that you have ADD. Well, although for many with ADD, short spurts of reading are preferred, in order to read a full book, you have to be able to recall what you have read before, which can be hard for anyone, let alone those with ADD, to do if you have to read in many short bursts. The continuity gets lost. This is especially true if the short bursts are caused by baby-related interruptions, which is a lot different than reading for a short bit, and coming to a calm, easy close and transition, in which you kind of note to yourself mentally where you are in the story, etc., which facilitates the transition back into the book later on.
Posted by bob on May 22, 2000, at 15:43:30
In reply to Re: here's a new one....(obsession), posted by Noa on May 22, 2000, at 9:46:02
CarolAnn,
I would never pick up a book I wanted to read unless I knew I could read it straight through. Back as an undergrad, I'd buy a trilogy of some story and read it straight through. Now I've got computers to keep me sleepless, tho. ;^)
Actually, what was really helpful to break this compulsion somewhat was the NYC subway system. And working in a cube. I'd get 45-60 minutes of reading in, then I wouldn't be able to pull out the book again until the trip home.
But a stop at Barnes & Noble on a Friday is a bad sign for getting things (like sleep) done that weekend.
cheers,
bob
Posted by Renee N on May 22, 2000, at 20:57:04
In reply to Re: here's a new one....(obsession), posted by bob on May 22, 2000, at 15:43:30
I'm obsessed with reading, but not in the same way. Ever since I started investigating the possibility of my son and I having ADHD about three years ago, I can't stop reading about it. At first it was books and magazines, but now here I am on the internet. When I started trying meds for my problems, I came to the internet and eventually found my way here. I think it is very interesting that in another thread someone said that they could tell how good or bad their mood was by how often they came here. I'm usally here everyday. For awhile, I was here for several hours at least once a day, often many times a day. I know i'm feeling better when I don't feel the need to come here for a whole day!
I also have an addiction to children's books. I worked in an elementary school library for three and a half years and am now a substitute teacher. When I have extra time at school I often offer to help in the library. The problem is I pull more books off the shelf to read later than I put away on the shelf! This one lady acted like I was really weird because of this. I've always thought of my interest as an asset to my career of working with children...Who cares?! I love the books and the kids.
Posted by Cindy W on May 23, 2000, at 0:06:42
In reply to Re: here's a new one....(obsession), posted by Renee N on May 22, 2000, at 20:57:04
> I'm obsessed with reading, but not in the same way. Ever since I started investigating the possibility of my son and I having ADHD about three years ago, I can't stop reading about it. At first it was books and magazines, but now here I am on the internet. When I started trying meds for my problems, I came to the internet and eventually found my way here. I think it is very interesting that in another thread someone said that they could tell how good or bad their mood was by how often they came here. I'm usally here everyday. For awhile, I was here for several hours at least once a day, often many times a day. I know i'm feeling better when I don't feel the need to come here for a whole day!
> I also have an addiction to children's books. I worked in an elementary school library for three and a half years and am now a substitute teacher. When I have extra time at school I often offer to help in the library. The problem is I pull more books off the shelf to read later than I put away on the shelf! This one lady acted like I was really weird because of this. I've always thought of my interest as an asset to my career of working with children...Who cares?! I love the books and the kids.Like Renee, am also obsessed with reading (for some reason, my computer will not let me capitalize certain letters...didn't this happen to others, a while back?). Anyway, I feel I have to check out new information in so many areas, I can never read all of it (sci fi, horror, great novels by favorite authors, stuff about depression/mental illness/therapies, physics and astronomy, breast cancer, frogs, sex, etc. etc. etc.). It's hard for me (now the "I" is working!?) to go into a library and not end up with a lot more books than I can reasonably finish in a reasonable period of time. So I'm usually stressed and reading like mad...but I never expect to finish more than a chapter or two per day.--Cindy W
Posted by juniper on May 23, 2000, at 0:34:20
In reply to Re: here's a new one....(obsession), posted by Cindy W on May 23, 2000, at 0:06:42
i do this same thing, cindy. (my capital letters do work, but i don't usually capitalize things---i think at one point it was out of some silly principal, but now it is habit) i am interested in so many things and will read countless little things on each, but never get into the depths that i hope to. lots of newspaper and magazine articles, i think because i know that i can more easily digest them than whole books (probably a bit of ADD rearing its ugly little head here). though i feel much more stable as of late, i usually swing from depressed to just a wee bit manic, so my room would begin to accrue books and articles and snippets i was so excited to read (it looked like it had been hit by a tornado of curiosity) then i'd fall back into depression and it would just look like a very dusty tornado of curiosity until my next mood swing...
more healthy than most of my habits :)
juniper
Posted by Renee N on May 23, 2000, at 3:55:49
In reply to Re: here's a new one....(obsession), posted by juniper on May 23, 2000, at 0:34:20
I think I should get a plaque or some kind of recognition for my overwhelming contributions(read-overdue fines paid. Dang, those things add up fast when you check out a dozen or so books plus 20+ CDs you mean to copy, but never do...)to my public library!
Posted by CarolAnn on May 23, 2000, at 7:56:14
In reply to Re: here's a new one....(obsession), posted by Renee N on May 22, 2000, at 20:57:04
Actually Noa, I've been this way about reading my whole life, it's just worse since the baby.
BUT, you are absolutely right about the ADD being a contributing factor. It's funny, I never even thought of it before, but if I do manage to put a book down, I always have to re-read the last few pages before I can continue, because I do forget what I read previously!Renee, I thought I was the only one who loved to read children's books! Have you read the "Harry Potter" series? I can't wait 'til July 8, when the next one comes out. I have also loved everything Beverly Cleary ever wrote. "The Henry Huggins" series, the "Ramona Quimby" series, and she wrote 3 or 4 books about teenage love, which are so sweet, because they're set in the 50's when teenagers were so innocent! I have a whole shelf of childhood favorites, which I take out and read again every couple years or so. What are some of your favorites? CarolAnn
Posted by Cindy W on May 23, 2000, at 9:44:25
In reply to Re: here's a new one....(obsession), posted by Renee N on May 23, 2000, at 3:55:49
> I think I should get a plaque or some kind of recognition for my overwhelming contributions(read-overdue fines paid. Dang, those things add up fast when you check out a dozen or so books plus 20+ CDs you mean to copy, but never do...)to my public library!
Renee, you're the kind of person I want in line with me at the library, so I don't feel so guilty returning my overdue books!!!--Cindy W (also a major library fine contributor)
Posted by harry b. on May 23, 2000, at 11:40:12
In reply to Re: here's a new one....(obsession), posted by Cindy W on May 23, 2000, at 9:44:25
I'm a paperback junkie. If it's 2am and I've just
finished one, I HAVE to go to a 24hr Kmart or the
like to get a new fix. Can not be without a book.In my 20's & 30's I read LITERATURE, my shelves are
full of Kant, Fromm, Sartre, Huxley, Steinbeck,
Dostoyevsky, Kafka, classic novelists and poets.
Now I read the best-sellers. Loved Stephen Coonts'
_Cuba_. Love techno-thrillers and psychological
thrillers. Good spy and medical cliff-hangers make
my day too.My other obsession these days is trying to find
a way to achieve orgasm (as if that's news to you
all). Speaking of which, .....ah, use your imagination.
Posted by Noa on May 23, 2000, at 13:54:58
In reply to Re: here's a new one....(obsession), posted by harry b. on May 23, 2000, at 11:40:12
I was in an overdue fine rut for a long time, but have started to be better about returning or renewing on line. Maybe I am more timely now because of how frequently I am there these days, using the online computers. Anyway, I know the libraries are always starving for funds, so it feels like a good contribution.
Posted by Renee N on May 23, 2000, at 17:16:36
In reply to Re: to Noa and Renee, posted by CarolAnn on May 23, 2000, at 7:56:14
> Renee, I thought I was the only one who loved to read children's books! Have you read the "Harry Potter" series? I can't wait 'til July 8, when the next one comes out. I have also loved everything Beverly Cleary ever wrote. "The Henry Huggins" series, the "Ramona Quimby" series, and she wrote 3 or 4 books about teenage love, which are so sweet, because they're set in the 50's when teenagers were so innocent! I have a whole shelf of childhood favorites, which I take out and read again every couple years or so. What are some of your favorites? CarolAnn
Carol Ann,
I am embarrassed to say that I started the first Harry Potter book last summer, reading aloud to my two kids, got to about twenty pages to the end and never finished! My son's teacher read it to his class. My daughter never read the ending either! Yet my daughter and I stood in line for 4 hours to get two of the books signed by the author. My daughter wanted to give it up after about 45 minutes, but I refused to waste that much time without getting what I came for! Maybe they'll be worth millions someday, and I'll be rich!(Yeah, right!) I hear the second one isn't as good as the first, but the third one is the best so far.
As for some of my favorites----picture books-Henry and Mudge series by Cynthia Rylant, Carl series by Alexandra Day, Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters by John Steptoe, The Missing Piece and The Missing Piece Meets the Big "O" (No nasty thoughts,please!)by Shel Silverstein, Hershel and the Hannakuh Goblins by Eric Kimmel,and anything by William Steig, Chris Van Allsberg, Dr. Seuss, Eve Bunting, or William Joyce.
Chapter books-- The Bridge to Teribithia by Katherine Paterson, Phoenix Rising by Karen Hesse, Charlotte's Web by E. B. White, The Giver by Lois Lowery, The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi, Chasing Redbird by Sharon Creech, The Watsons Go to Birmingham 1962 by Christopher Curtis, Afternoon of the Elves by ?(Can't remember, maybe Somebody Lisle?) Diecy's Song and Coming Home by Cynthia Voight, and anything by Roald Dahl.
Nonfiction--The Great Fire by Russell Freeman, The Way Things Work by David McCauley, The People Could Fly by Virginia Hamilton, and the Magic Schoolbus series by Joanna Cole.
Okay so my list is a bit long, but hey, you did ask! 8^) Renee N
P.S. The more you read
The more you know.
The more you know,
The smarter you grow.
The smarter you grow,
The stronger your voice
When speaking your mind
Or making your choice.
(I've never seen the aauthor listed.)
Posted by juniper on May 23, 2000, at 23:39:17
In reply to Re: to Noa and Renee, posted by Renee N on May 23, 2000, at 17:16:36
renee--the missing piece and the missing piece meets the big O are 2 of my favorites. i used to work with juvenile delinquents (teens) who did their best to wear a tough facade, but i'd read them these stories and they would always ask for them again.
would the little prince be considered a childrens book?
Posted by jbird on May 24, 2000, at 14:42:49
In reply to children's books, posted by juniper on May 23, 2000, at 23:39:17
I work in a public library and I'm so glad to hear of people using the library and reading books - not just using the internet! Working at the library was a natural choice for me since I've always loved books and reading. When I'm depressed I love escaping into a book (usually a romance) for the whole day. I know when I'm really, really depressed because then I don't want to read at all. It's a little frustrating seeing all the books here (I check this site when I'm bored at work) and know I don't have time to read everything I would like. I've managed to keep it under control, but still have stacks of books at home, and running out of room. (Thankfully I don't get fines since I'm an employee.) My boyfriend says when I'm an old woman they'll find me buried under stacks of magazines and books! I read every spare moment and would rather do that than anything. Lately I've been reading magazines (has to be cover to cover the whole thing), art history (my major), social histories, a few novels and of course about depression and what to do about it. So glad I'm not the only one who loves books.
the Little Prince is shelved in Youth Services but I think it's a great book for all ages.
Posted by Noa on May 24, 2000, at 17:42:46
In reply to Re: library, posted by jbird on May 24, 2000, at 14:42:49
My ten year old nephew has read each of the Harry Potter books at least 11 times, by latest report (possibly more by now!). I asked him why, and he says he finds something new each time!
Posted by Noa on May 24, 2000, at 18:31:16
In reply to Re: library, posted by jbird on May 24, 2000, at 14:42:49
Yup, have always loved the libray!
As a teen, I developed a bad habit/compulsion for *buying* books, which always went overboard. So, in my early twenties, I made myself cultivate the habit of going to the library. I would walk, about 3/4 mi, and it was just a lovely routine. Then, after I moved to a new area, I didn't get back into the library routine right away, at least not regularly. Then, when the big Barnes and Nobles opened around town,I started using them as libraries, comfy chairs and all (I wish the public library could offer that). But of course, those B&N folks ain't no dummies, and I became a predictable consumer--sure, hang out a long time in the store and read there, but more likely to purchase now. Well, past year, with attempts to keep myself within budget, I started frequenting the library again, and now I do so many times a week, to use the internet, but also to read and take out books. And there is something about the atmosphere here, with other people doing their reading and researching, and homework and projects, it feels like a real community, even tho I don't know them. Public libraries are truly a miraculous idea.
Posted by Noa on May 24, 2000, at 18:54:09
In reply to Re: compulsive reading--Harry Potter, posted by Noa on May 24, 2000, at 17:42:46
While here tonight, I noticed a few depression related books that seem interesting, so I am taking them out. If I manage to read them, I'll let you know what I think. Anyone read these?
Skin Game: a cutter's memoir, by Caroline Kettlewell
The Beast, by Tracy Thompson (I know some folks here have read this one)
The Jaws of the Black Dogs: a memoir of depression, by John Bentley Mays
Out of the Blue: depression and human nature, by David B. Cohen
A Parent's Guide to Childhood and Adolescent Depression, by Patricia Gotlieb Shapiro
Posted by jbird on May 24, 2000, at 20:27:43
In reply to Re: library books, posted by Noa on May 24, 2000, at 18:54:09
Noa-
I have not read those books, but The Beast and In the Jaws of the Black Dogs have gotten good reviews (I read a lot of book reviews too!) and are on my list of books to read. Also recommended to me by a co-worker was In Love with Daylight by Wilfrid Sheed. Let me know if they're any good - I'll move them up on my list!
Posted by Renee N on May 25, 2000, at 0:06:28
In reply to children's books, posted by juniper on May 23, 2000, at 23:39:17
> renee--the missing piece and the missing piece meets the big O are 2 of my favorites. i used to work with juvenile delinquents (teens) who did their best to wear a tough facade, but i'd read them these stories and they would always ask for them again.
Juniper,
I used to read these to classes at school. They were of a low socioeconomic group, and not real used to the ideas of books as entertaionment. They would moan and groan when I would announce that I was going to read aloud both of the Missing Piece books. (They look like thick novels!) When they realized how fun they are(and short!) then they really loved them. There's nothing more satisfying to me than bringing reluctant readers and fantastic books together.
Renee N> would the little prince be considered a childrens book?
Yes, I believe so. I first read it in French class in high school.
Posted by Steph on May 25, 2000, at 19:40:35
In reply to here's a new one....(obsession), posted by CarolAnn on May 22, 2000, at 9:11:09
> I haven't seen this one here, unless I missed it. Anyone else have a reading obsession? For example: I can't begin any novel unless I know that I have time to read the whole thing. I can't stand to stop reading in the middle of a book, even if it isn't very good, I have to finish so I'll know what happened in the end. It seems that not only am I a compulsive over-eater, but I am also a compulsive over-*reader*! I'm also obsessed with magazines. I'll read just about any kind(except sports), probably because I know that at least, with a magazine, I can get all the way thru it in an hour or so.
> Anyway, there's a little more of my nuttiness, in a nutshell(so to speak)! CarolAnnCarol Anne!
I have the same problem but a little less I think. I have two young children. I worry about the possiblity that I have ADD. I am currently taking Celexa for PMS. In the two weeks I have been on it I havn't desired to read at all. I have wanted to exercise, sleep wake up and go outside with my kids. It is like I want to escape inside a book. My husband even expresses jealousy over it---he wishes he could read as fast as I do. Mostly I like new novels like those review in NY times. It is not unusal for me to read five 400+ page novels in a week. Unfortuneately at night when everyone is asleep---and way tooo late so I feel like I have a hangover in the morning.
Steph
Posted by tina on May 25, 2000, at 21:46:37
In reply to Re: children's books, posted by Renee N on May 25, 2000, at 0:06:28
Here's one for ya. I have such a reading obsession that the last job I had, ya the one that I lost because of this damn illness, was at Chapter's, the largest bookstore chain in Canada. How's that for a reading obsession......
> > renee--the missing piece and the missing piece meets the big O are 2 of my favorites. i used to work with juvenile delinquents (teens) who did their best to wear a tough facade, but i'd read them these stories and they would always ask for them again.
>
> Juniper,
> I used to read these to classes at school. They were of a low socioeconomic group, and not real used to the ideas of books as entertaionment. They would moan and groan when I would announce that I was going to read aloud both of the Missing Piece books. (They look like thick novels!) When they realized how fun they are(and short!) then they really loved them. There's nothing more satisfying to me than bringing reluctant readers and fantastic books together.
> Renee N
>
> > would the little prince be considered a childrens book?
> Yes, I believe so. I first read it in French class in high school.
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