(Note: I already had this post ready when I saw that Amy had posted about her love of reading and Goodreads. I considered saving this for another time because of the similarity of the two posts, but changed my mind. I thought it was so funny that she and I were thinking so much about the same topic. Enjoy, and find a good book to read!)
I am a bookaholic. I
love books, always have. My parents
always said that the only things you take with you from this life are your
relationships and your knowledge, and books are a great source of knowledge. We have always been a family of book lovers. I remember buying books for many birthday and
Christmas gifts for my parents, and I
still see certain books that I think that mom or dad would have liked. I remember learning to read with my
mom, who had me read the Sunday comics to her each week when I was learning to
read. I still have some of the books that I had as a child that my grandkids
are now reading.
Several years ago I got a job at a local bookstore, which
started out just as seasonal help, but turned into a 16 year career. Needless to say, I spent a lot of my pay for
books over the years. My daughters and
their children all like books and I often buy them books as gifts. One
of my favorite things to do with my grandkids is reading together. We have some favorites, and it is so fun to
cuddle with one or more of the kids with a stack of great books. I read to our daughters as they were growing
up, such favorites as Anne of Green Gables series, Wizard of Oz books, Nancy
Drew, and more. I get excited when I see
my daughters reading with their children, and we often share books and book
lists.
When we moved a couple of years ago, my husband said he
would not move my books again, as there were so many. I had more boxes of books than anything else (except
maybe craft supplies!) I have my books stacked two piles deep (or more) on most
of my bookshelves. But still I buy more.
I have a tablet reader that I got for reading eBooks, since they are often less
expensive than hard copies. I have found
that convenient, and now I also have a reading app on my phone, which comes in
handy when I am waiting at a doctor office, etc. but there is something about a
book. I love touching the pages, smelling
the paper, seeing the cover. Even when I
worked at the bookstore, I would sometimes stop at Costco on the way home to
see if there was a great price on a book I wanted. I can’t buy as many books
now that I don’t work, but I still love to look at the kids’ school book
orders, enjoy going to their book fairs, and shop often on Amazon.
I don’t buy every book I want to read. Now I am checking my
local libraries more often. I also
listen to audio books, which help me get through my exercise in the morning,
cleaning chores, driving, or working on projects. There are so many books on my “to read” list
that I need to employ every method I can to get through them all. Seems that for every book I read from my
list, I add several more onto the list.
I know that there are a lot of books out there that are not
worth reading, are poorly written, have inappropriate content, or are just not
the kind of book I like. But I have
never had a time in my life that I did not have a list or stack of books
waiting for me, and I hope that never changes.
~Gayle
