I have been an avid reader my whole life, but never once have I ever counted my books. I just counted them, wondering how many I actually own, and I have 170 books on my shelf. I will let you know that they are not all novels, I own five Jamie Oliver Cookbooks, but I included everything that looks like a book no matter what it has on the inside. Now that I have come to realize that I have so many books all I can think is that I want to buy more books. I think that I am addicted to books.
My love of books began at an early age, my Mom is also a great lover of books and I think that this addiction is all her fault. My Mom use to read to read to me and one day I asked her to read with me and she said that she thought that I could read it myself. I don’t remember what age I was, or what book it was, but that she said that I could do it on my own. From that day I haven’t ever stopped reading. I have always had a book on the go, even during University when I didn’t have a lot of time for recreational reading. I probably love books more than anything else.
I have good memories of reading. When I was kid and I would sleep over at my Granny’s house and she would read a book or story to me before bed. I loved that time, because it wasn’t something that my parents did with me and it made that time really special. In the summer I would spend time at my Granny’s house laying by the pool reading. That is summer to me, lying out in the sun reading, I would go to Granny’s and we would sit together and read. I guess that if I got my love of reading from my Mom, then she got hers from Granny.
I take a book with me everywhere I go. It has become such a habit that even if I am just going to the grocery store I will make sure that my book is with me. I have also gotten to point when I choose a bag or purse that I know will fit a book in them. My sister-in-law even made me a book cover so that when I put a book in my bag it won’t get destroyed. I don’t take a book with me as a shield because I am unable to sit somewhere, like a restaurant, alone. I take books with me because I don’t want to be bored. I remember one time I was on a shopping trip with my parents and we were in a shoe store. My Dad was taking such a long time picking out what shoes he wanted, and if you know my Dad you will get this, and I pulled my book out of my bag and started to read. It was that boring, and let me tell you I was thankful for the book in my bag that day.
The cool new trend is to have an eReader and I have yet to fall for it. I love my books, I love the way they look, I love the way they feel, I love being able to turn pages, and flip through it to see how many pages are left in a chapter or the book. I understand the desire for eReaders, but I know that I will miss books to much. In the future I am sure that I will get an eReader, I held out for a really love time before I got my iPod, but I’m not ready to have to charge my books batteries.
Even if I get an eReader I know for a fact that I will never ever stop buying books. I realize that real books cost more money, but to me they are worth it. I love my book shelf; I love being able to look over and see some of my favourite places, and people. One day I hope that I can have a whole room devoted to books with big comfy chairs for reading.
