WORD OF THE WEEK: BIBLIOPHAGE

The newsletter's current theme is words about booklovers, and for fun we'll publish some in the next few E-Sylum issues. Here's the first one:

"bibliophage (BIB-lee-uh-fayj), noun An ardent reader; a bookworm. [Biblio- book + -phage one that eats.]

"A thousand facts crowd the mind of the bibliophage narrator who recites fragments -- proper names, book titles, writefly quirks--at a dizzying clip."

Sybil Steinberg, et al., PW's best books, Publishers Weekly, Nov 1996.

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,

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)."

Wayne Homren, Editor

Content presented in The E-Sylum is not necessarily researched or independently fact-checked, and views expressed do not necessarily represent those of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society.

This is a static archive page documenting the originally published content. Links were active at the time of publication but may no longer work. Check subsequent issues for corrections and commentary.

The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. For more information please see our web site at http://www.coinbooks.org/ There is a membership application available on the web site. To join, print the application and return it with your check to the address printed on the application. Visit the Membership page. Those wishing to become new E-Sylum subscribers (or wishing to Unsubscribe) can go to the following web page link.

To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: E-Sylum Editor

The E-Sylum: Volume 3, Number 25, June 18, 2000, Article 4

WORD OF THE WEEK: BIBLIOPHAGE

Wayne Homren, Editor