My Addiction

I am addicted to books. All kinds of books. Paperbacks. Hardbacks. I thought maybe my addiction might be cured by the Kindle, but it has only made it worse, because I have easy access... they are just a click away, and there are so many free ones out there!

While I enjoy my Kindle, and absolutely LOVE my Kindle fire, there's just something about an actual book that makes me warm inside. Today, I spent two hours in a bookstore, and I probably could have spent longer except I got afraid they would think I was a stalker or criminial or something. I love to walk down the aisles, gazing sideways at the book titles. I've got my favorite authors, and I'll usually look for their books first. Then, I just like to look... I look at the cover art. I'll pull the book out and thumb through the pages. I'll read the back, and maybe a line or two of the book itself. I usually end up packing around more books than I'll buy, and then make a final selection before I check out. I browse the fiction section, then the biographies, the history section, the inspirational/Christian section, and the sports section. I thumb through the bargain section and usually find at least a book or two there that I want to read. And the best part about bookstores now is that they WANT you to read... there's all those comfy chairs sitting around.  Today I pulled up a seat and spent at least 30 minutes just reading. 

I have bookshelves that spill over yet I keep buying. I read multiple books at a time, too... right now I have four paperbacks I'm reading (two in the living room, one of which I just bought today; one in the bathroom, one in the car) and three on my Kindle that I am reading. And then there's the greatest book of all... The Bible.

Like anything, reading takes time. It can take too much of my time, if I'm not careful. So I try to reward myself, and only read AFTER I get stuff crossed off the to do list. Or when I'm taking a bath. Or sitting in a drive-thru. Or at half-time of a ballgame. And always before I go to sleep, which may be one reason why I'm not getting as much sleep as I resolved at the beginning of the year that I would get, because usually when I start reading I just keep on, and keep on.

My books are my friends.  I have some that I've read in childhood that I love, and have on a list that I want to re-read.  There are some, like Gone with the Wind, that are my absolute favorites, and I've read numerous times.  And then there are books that bring back memories. Nancy Drew books.  Little House on the Prairie books.  R. L. Stine's Fear Street books.  And if I had to define my teenage years with a series of books, it would have to be Sweet Valley High!  I got a box of them from one of my older cousins, devoured them, and became an official collector of a book series.  I have no idea where those books went to, but I read and re-read them as I took breaks from reading classics such as Les Miserables, A Separate Peace, To Kill A Mockingbird,  and Dante's Inferno (some for school, some for pleasure...) So imagine my pleasure when I find a Sweet Valley Confidential book at Books a Million today.  I immediately picked it up, started reading, and felt like I was a teenager holed up in my bedroom. 


Addiction? Yes... Is it one I want to get rid of?  Um, no... so guess I'll just keep TRYING  to maintain control.  Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a book calling my name right now... it's called Lewis' Medical-Surgical Nursing, and I really have to make some notes so I can get back to my Sweet Valley Confidential.