Anonymous Book Addicts
Anonymous Reading Addicts 2

The anonymous book addicts are back

The second volume of "Anonymous Reading Addicts," which was published in December 2018 and was greatly loved for its B-grade sensibility and intellectual humanistic culture regarding "reading" and readers, has returned.
You will be able to confirm that the reading club's reading group, which has the slogan "Self-development is nothing but an act of self-mutilation, and self-destruction is the only answer," is still going strong.
There is some variation in the composition of the members.
In the place of the 'Yeti' that disappeared at the last performance of Shakespeare's [Macbeth] at the cultural center, a 'Sasquatch' belonging to the realm of primate or cryptozoology is sitting.
The 'teacher' is locked up in the hospital again after his identity is revealed, and the 'police officer' has finished his undercover work and has been transferred to a rural village.
The excessive love and obsession for books displayed by existing members such as 'Lion', a soccer fanatic, 'Gosling', who runs a cafe and plays the guitar, 'Shu', who quit his job as a spy and is now writing a memoir, and 'Lawrence', who announces his new novel at the meeting despite the cynicism of the members, remain unchanged.
Here comes a new member who is no slouch when it comes to his love of books.
At the club, she is Baek Seol-gi, a librarian known for her 'dark sexy' personality.

I missed this atmosphere!

Volume 1 of 『Anonymous Reading Addicts』 begins with 『Books and the World』 by Kang Yu-won.
All readers agreed with the sentence, “Only sick people read books, just as a lion eats grass when its stomach is upset.” As if to prove this, the members of the book club showed off their strong taste in books, exuding an aura of social maladjustment.
Volume 2 begins with a sort of reading addiction self-test.


_______ was a child who only delved into books from the beginning.
(…) As a result, _____ grew up to be an intelligent but timid, short-tempered and sensitive person, a person with many thoughts and worries, and a rich vocabulary, but who was of no help to anyone.


If a satisfied smile spreads across your face right now, you are a reading addict.
(Page 3)

This sentence, taken from Ian Sansom's "The Library Book Theft," will also make book lovers laugh out loud.
In Volume 2, libraries and librarians connect with the world of book addicts.
In Volume 1, the library also appears as a space beloved by book addicts.
He talked about the 'most beautiful library in the world' that he had only seen in books, or received a text message about an overdue library bill at a crucial moment to catch a criminal, but instead of chasing the criminal, he headed straight to the library, saying that 'there is no such thing as an overdue bill for a library member,' or created the famous meme, 'If there is no library nearby, move, it is not a place for people to live.'
This time, you can vividly experience the daily life of a librarian working in such a space.


In a house where no one read books, I was the only one who liked books.
There was no reason for books to increase in a house where reading was not fun, so I had no choice but to read the same books over and over again.
One day, a new life began when I learned of the existence of a library near my house.
(Pages 8-9)

Baek Seol-gi, who thinks of books and libraries as the keywords of her life, and who maintains a life pattern of home-school-home as a student and home-library-home as a librarian, became a librarian at a public library because she loves books.
However, I am living with the realization that the work of a librarian is 'the hardship of a librarian' itself.
Among them, the most difficult task is poster design.
While he was thinking about what poster to put on the library bulletin board, a fellow librarian brought him a flyer recruiting members for the cultural center's "Reading Club," which came as a shock.


I just liked the days when I used to use the library.
I'm surrounded by books now, but I can't read them during work hours...
I collapse when I get off work.
Since the library became my workplace, the amount I read has decreased.
I became a librarian because I loved books… (Page 21)

Anyone who has a job related to books, such as a librarian, writer, editor, or bookseller, or who loves books, can relate to Baek Seol-gi's worries.
Although he has planned and supported many reading groups, he has never participated in one himself. He finally decides to become a member of a reading club.
And the moment the door to the reading room at the cultural center opens, the scene that readers have longed for is replayed anew.

A solid and complex book story from a bookworm.

Like the alcoholism recovery group 'Alcoholics Anonymous', the reading group is run without members' occupations or names being known, so Baek Seol-gi uses the stage name 'Dark Sexy' and greets the members.
The host lion welcomes new members by reading a passage from the book.

Unlike humans, books are not difficult to put down, to chatter about, or to tear away.
Books don't come to you unless you call them out.
You can pick up this book or that book as you like.
There are plenty of books, but not everyone reads them.
(…) (Page 35, Stefan Zweig, The Consoling Spirit)

While all the book addicts are impressed, librarian Baek Seol-gi is alone and anxious, showing symptoms of an occupational disease bordering on obsession, such as assigning call numbers according to the Korean Decimal Classification and even estimating the location of books on the shelves.
By this time, readers begin to feel a strange sense of relief, realizing that the librarian is also a book addict with an aura of social maladjustment.
The librarian sometimes moves Lawrence's "The Frozen Land of Desire," recommended by Sasquatch, to the "preservation shelf," where less-used or older books are stored, to free up space in the library's reading room.


The lion is heartbroken by the death of his favorite author, John le Carré, but he also becomes hyper-engrossed when football is mentioned, and he and his book club members share "complex, determined, and individual" reading tastes.
A police officer who is assigned to an undercover investigation of a biker gang is once again involved in a book club. He visits the library to find a related book and is greeted by the librarian who says, "You're known as a dark sexy person in the club."


Useful tips on reading from book addicts, such as “You don’t have to read it all; book addicts are indifferent to bestsellers,” continue in Volume 2.
Books that are republished have a lower chance of failure, or you can start reading from the part you want to read, or how to take notes in a book.
When a bookshelf appears in the background of an expert interview video, people ignore the interview content because they are busy looking at the books on the shelf. When something bothers them, they relieve stress by reading or organizing books. The lifestyle habits of book addicts, such as the reason why book addicts never fall for fake news, excite everyone.


The Secrets of Writing and the Pain of Creation

In Volume 2, the experience of reading a book is meticulously captured, even the writer's mind.
Shu, who runs a 'Agutang and Dessert' shop and works as a pastry chef and chocolatier, decides to quit his job as a spy and write a memoir.
I managed to write the title with the luxurious 'Aurora' fountain pen, but I kept getting lost in thought or reading a book for reference and became so engrossed in it that I ended up just writing the title for months.
The character who best embodies the creator's pain and joy is Lawrence.
He has not been able to write since winning the New Writer's Award for "Blau, Between Freezing and Thawing," and he diligently follows the advice of great writers in writing manuals, but "that person" never comes.

okay.
Surprisingly, many novelists have advised against obsessing over plot.
If you create characters and provide a stage for them to play on, the characters will take care of the rest.
Hmm, the character I created is…
good.
Now, if we just set up the stage for the tank stadium…

Nothing happens! (pp. 180-183)

A healthy gag comic with B-grade sensibility and intellectual fun.

As expected, a big twist occurs in the end.
Lawrence achieves great success as a writer, and the sudden appearance of the Yeti reveals his connection to Sasquatch.
Some members develop romance through gatherings.
Of course, we can't miss out on the bonus episodes that can only be found in the single volume edition.
'Nomad', who was kicked out of a gathering for reading a self-development book and earned everyone's pity, and 'Teacher', who was locked up in a mental hospital, will leave a strong impression even with their brief appearances.
"Author's Notes: Useless Even if You Know Them" adds depth to your understanding of the work, and just browsing the "Reading Addicts' Reading List" feels like a peek into the members' bookshelves. Immerse yourself in the healthy and delightful world of books with "Anonymous Reading Addicts."