Hi, my name is Dan….

Will Baude has an amusing post up about addiction over at Crescat Sententia. The good part: I remember being struck that if you took the various signs of “alcoholism” and replaced books and reading as appropriate, nearly all of them applied to me: Are books a necessary part of your daily routine? Check. Do you ...

By , a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast.

Will Baude has an amusing post up about addiction over at Crescat Sententia. The good part:

Will Baude has an amusing post up about addiction over at Crescat Sententia. The good part:

I remember being struck that if you took the various signs of “alcoholism” and replaced books and reading as appropriate, nearly all of them applied to me: Are books a necessary part of your daily routine? Check. Do you become grumpy and irritable if your books are taken away from you? Check. If you begin reading, just a little bit, do you find it hard to stop? Check. Do you find yourself growing distant from friends who disapprove of your book habit? Big check. Do you find yourself needing more and more books to get the same “fix”? Check. When you meet a new person or enter a new room, do you instantly size up his bookshelf? Check. Does your book habit sometimes get in the way of leading a “normal” life? Check. (Think of the countless social engagements I have declined because I preferred to finish an addictive read.) Do you buy books to make yourself feel better when sad or lonely? Check.

If you’ll all excuse me, I think I have to go to the Seminary Co-op for a little bit. As I’m there, I’ll keep Phoebe Maltz’s words of wisdom in mind:

At least at Chicago, if not in some larger segments of the world, a person who reads books all the time is considered admirable, even if all that is gained by this reading is that the reader is entertained.

Daniel W. Drezner is a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast. Twitter: @dandrezner

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