Books, Books, Books…And Books


If you told me three years ago that I would read between 5 and 8 books a week I would laugh uncontrollably to the point that bladder control would become a huge issue. As an English major I would read between 8 and 12 books a semester, so after four years well, you do the math. I can't say I hated books when I graduated, but I was under the impression that if I never saw another book again it would be too soon.

Two years ago I was a bored housewife, even though I had a 1 year old. Sparky was working non-stop, which isn't much different than now. I needed something to occupy my time so I wasn't distracting him from his work. I used to scrapbook and do crafty things, but that can get expensive and we were on a tight budget then. (Not that that has changed much, either!)

One day I was at the neighborhood Curves with my mom and the women were talking about this one book. They were raving about it, about the characters, the relationships, the intrigue. Ladies and gentlemen, they were talking about Twilight. Honestly.

I had heard about the book when it first came out and I remember being interested in it, but it was during my books are evil and make my eyes bleed phase. Curious again I asked for the series for Christmas thinking that reading a book may help with my boredom. I didn't have much hope, but I was desperate.

Sparky got me the first one for Christmas, by the time New Year's came around I had read all four. I don't know if I can credit the actual story with getting me to read again or if it was just my mind craving words and stories again. Or vampires. I like reading about vampires, yeah I think that was it.

Sparky was thrilled. He could work at night and not have me staring at him inflicting guilt with imaginary guilt darts shooting from my eyes.

Thanks to a good friend of mine I started reading Nora Roberts and that's when the real problem appeared. I would read her series books in one day. I would read, and read, and read.

The best part? The books I was reading were loaned from friends and relatives; in fact, my cousin and I started a little book club with just the two of us. We'd each read a book, switch, then discuss. It didn't last long because I would read a book in a day and she would need a couple more days. While I was waiting, I'd read more. I couldn't stop.

The same friend that introduced me to Nora Roberts introduced me to a used bookstore. Money started disappearing in the amounts of $2 here, $4 there. I got a Prime membership from Amazon and started buying from their marketplace. I couldn't stop, there were murmurs of going to RA (Readers Anonymous) from Sparky. He was starting to look for sponsors for me.

Last summer, two years after I started reading again, Sparky gave up the hopes of rehabilitating me and bought me a 5 x 8 bookcase for my birthday. The second it was assembled it was filled, and I still had books left over that needed a home. This past fall, Sparky got me bookends for our anniversary. Those, too, were put to good use, but still, I had more books.

The best birthday and anniversary presents so far – bookcases.

At his wits end he gave up and bought me a Kindle for Valentine's Day. Little does he know that I still buy regular books in addition to my Kindle purchases. But that will be our little secret.

 


4 responses to “Books, Books, Books…And Books”

  1. I do it, too. I find a nook book I really like, I buy the hard copy, too. I have two big bookcase and a bunch of smaller ones, and I still have books in piles and boxes. It really is an addiction!

    So, Sparky, why don't I get a picture here? And Kaye doesn't get one at my site?

  2. […] me to make a liar out of myself. Two weeks ago I posted a story about my love of reading entitled Books, Books, Books…And Books. In the post I shared my love of the written word and how I can knock back between 5 and 8 books a […]