Autonomous work - LESESUCHT: AN ADDICTION TO READING

Hi everyone,

Today, I want to share with you an astonishing article about reading addiction and reading fear.

Here is the link : https://www.ozy.com/acumen/theres-a-word-for-your-weird-book-addiction/73897

And here below my summary:


In Germany, there are words to qualify « addiction to books ». It’s called lesesucht, lesewut (reading rage) and leserei (reading mania).
These negative words came to be in the late 1700s as a consequence of establishment disapproval regarding literacy boom that occured at that time. Indeed, there was a wave of worry among them who read religious and practical books when they aknowledges the tendency of young women, reading romance novels, and the underclass, who was about reading novels all day rather than working.
This anxiety was shared by both right and left political wings. Indeed, the first was worried by the potential of “secular texts” to let the masses giving up the Bible, and the second one was concerned about reading “trash” instead of philosophy.
Nowadays, it seems to us completely astounding, since we are so worried about NOT READING. But, people then, had a reason that justify their fear: an international epidemic of suicides was clutched by countless pearls, sparked by an author who depicted a love sorrow in his books.
Analogically, today we feed our fear as well as people did in the past, but we focus on violent video game and snapchat, rather than books.
Currently, we pay more attention on the content. For instance, there is a big concern about Twilight case, where women are so involved at the emotional stage with characters, that they find themselves drawn into abusive relationships.

Enjoy ^^