An extreme and obsessive addiction to collecting or possessing books, often going beyond rational interest into compulsive behavior.
From Greek 'biblion' (book) plus 'mania' (madness, excessive enthusiasm). The term was formalized in the early 1800s, particularly in England where wealthy collectors became infamous for their hoarding.
Thomas Dibdin, an actual bibliomaniac, wrote an entire satirical autobiography about his condition—he knew collecting books was irrational but couldn't stop, making him history's most honest hoarder!
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