From Bibliophile to Bibliomaniac: My Lifelong Obsession with the Printed Word

As I have written before, I have been a bibliophile since the very day I learned to read and write. But while reading has been my constant companion, writing was always an occasional visitor. I never really had a sustained passion for it, save for occasional bursts that started as diary entries and have now evolved into these personal blogs. Whenever I want to excuse my lack of writing output, I usually summon the help of none other than Socrates—after all, he only talked and never wrote a thing!

Lately, however, I feel myself slipping from a “bibliophile” into a true “bibliomaniac

Childhood Magic: From Fairy Tales to Audiobooks

Like most kids, my journey began with fairy tales, with a heavy dose of traditional Indian lore: the Panchatantra, Kathasaritsagara, Vikram and Betal, and translations of Aesop’s Fables.

I was also incredibly lucky to have a paternal uncle who was a vivid storyteller. Long before podcasts and Audible, I had real, live audiobooks available to me whenever he was visiting us!!

Comics came much later for me, with one major exception.I used to read “Mandrake the Magician,” which was serialized daily

in the Manorama newspaper.

My daily routine revolved around devouring both the Mathrubhumi and Malayala Manorama newspapers. Eventually, children’s magazines like Balarama came along, and the iconic Boban and Molly comic strip in the Manorama weekly became a massive attraction. I also vividly remember scanning through Cheriya Manushyanum Valiya Lokavum (Small Men and the Big World) in Mathrubhumi, even though  I didn’t entirely understood  its political nuances at that time.

Philosophies, Icons, and introduction to science

As I grew older, non-fiction entered the mix through biographies and autobiographies. Mahatma Gandhi’s My Experiments with Truth left a profound, lasting mark on my worldview, sparking a lifelong interest in Gandhian thought.

Another unexpected influence was the Gospel of Matthew, specifically the Sermon on the Mount. It gave me a deep respect for Christ and his teachings, though I quickly grew disappointed by the institutions around it. To this day, I see a sharp contradiction between the actual teachings of Jesus and the behavior of mainstream Christians. Years later, after reading George Bernard Shaw’s The Devil’s Disciple, I playfully adopted that title whenever debating with my Christian friends! (On a side note, I’ve realized I never seriously studied Islam, which remains a gap in my understanding).

My scientific awakening happened around the fifth or sixth grade when my father gifted me The Giants of Science, a collection of biographies spanning from Pythagoras to Albert Einstein. I treasured that book so much that I carried it with me all the way to my university days in Kurukshetra and even today at my home!

Among all those pioneers, Archimedes fascinated me the most—a fascination cemented by a brilliant All India Radio (AIR) play about his life. That was my true introduction to science, and the sheer excitement of asking why and how has never left me. Cavendish ,Madam Curie,Faraday were others who left a mark in me.(Quite unfortunately I came to know about Faraday’s role in promoting science awareness through annual Christmas lecture demonstrations much latter ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Institution_Christmas_Lectures ) I came to know about it only in 2010 when we started the quest forum and Christmas lectures appeared in quest activities prominently.)

College, Kurukshetra,Dive into international literature and the Descent into Bibliomania

My 10th-board exam was followed by exciting task:of finishing a prose version of the Mahabharat—all 7,000+ pages of it!!

But it was only after entering college that I started reading serious fiction, including Malayalam short stories and novels. By the time I became a student at Kurukshetra University, my reading had peaked into absolute madness. I was hunting down classics constantly: Of Human Bondage, the Sherlock Holmes series, James Bond, Greek mythologies, Anton Chekhov’s The Bet, The Idiot, What Men Live By, The Citadel, The Last Temptation of Christ, The Fratricides, The Rebel, and Iron in the Soul.

On the non-fiction side, I dive into Deschooling Society, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, and The Story of Philosophy. In recent years, that focus has shifted toward contemporary non-fiction: everything by Yuval Noah Harari, Mental Immunity, works by T.M. Krishna, Richard Dawkins, James Randi, Sam Harris, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Black Box Thinking, and just last week, The Liver Doc.

To a great extent, the Kurukshetra University library was the only thing capable of quenching my thirst. Back then, my financial situation didn’t allow me to buy many books, so I relied heavily on the library and cheap MIR Publications from the USSR.

Everything changed when I started receiving my research scholarships. Finally having my own money added fuel to the fire, and that is where my transformation from bibliophile to bibliomaniac truly began. Flipkart and Amazon only accelerated the obsession. Today, the moment I hear about a book, I read its review, and if it excites me, I procure it!!

Getting a Kindle ebook reader as a gift added a whole new dimension to this vice; now, I keep a Kindle version of almost every book I own.

The Walking Encyclopaedia and ‘THE BOOK’

Between 1982 and 1987 in Kurukshetra, a landmark event altered my perspective. I met a man who was a walking encyclopaedia, and he gave me my first serious introduction to Indian spirituality (an earlier attempt by my father had been a disaster). We used to spend countless afternoons and evenings discussing philosophy. To be fair, they were mostly monologues—I was merely a passive listener! It comes as no surprise to me that this friend, Jayashankar, has since become Swami Abhyamitra now.

He introduced me to three books that have never left me:

1. Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
2. The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis
3. The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran

The latter two remained my constant companion for a very long time. The Imitation of Christ was my spiritual anchor, and I used to carry a copy with me wherever I traveled.(Last five years or so I left it and now getting into stoicism.I will be writing about my stoic experience soon.)

But The Prophet was a masterclass—my entire life philosophy condensed into form. Words fail to express my feelings for that work. Immediately after reading it, I developed an insatiable thirst for Gibran’s other writings and left no stone unturned to find them. This is the book I have gifted to the maximum number of people in my life. I keep multiple copies of it: hardcopies, softcopies, and even MP3 formats. It is, without a doubt, THE book for me.

My obsession with it is something I just cannot overcome. In 2014, when Roger Allers directed an animated movie based on it https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Prophet_(2014_film),https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Prophet_(2014_film) I made it a point to get the DVD from the USA since it wasn’t available in India (even though, admittedly, the film itself turned out to be a disappointment).

I have already written at length about just how vital Gibran’s work is to my journey with the printed word. If you’re curious, I invite you to read that older post here: Why I Love to Quote from The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran

How to conclude this? I do not know.So leaving it as it.Probably writing about it will make me aware of my obsession and and I will have better control!!