Reading

I am a big fan of the books. If you know me at all you know I love to read. This infatuation with the written word started early; my parents made time to read to me every night when I was a child. I soaked up every word like an eager sponge, ready to consume and be consumed by what was, at the time, great literature (read: Berenstain Bears and Angelina Ballerina. The true classics). As I grew older and able to read on my own, I started carrying books with me everywhere. I wanted to read all the time. On the way to the grocery store five minutes away my house, at sporting events, on the way to school, in the backyard; the phrase "book-free zone" meant nothing to me. I read every book I had multiple times. Going to Barnes and Noble was a special occasion, allowing me the chance to meet new characters, become immersed in new lives and places and times. The summer I got my first library card was joyous. I would check out huge stacks of books and scoff at the librarians' earnest admonishments to please return my new friends within three weeks. Three weeks? I would think. Try three days. I'll be back for more soon! 

Sadly, I have much less time for reading now than I did when I was younger. Schoolwork takes up the majority of my year, and those carefree summer days spent sprawled out on a blanket in the shade have become replaced with a schedule of places I have to be and things I have to do, all of which take me far away from my beloved pastime. However, I would go crazy if I wasn't in the middle of at least one book at all times. I have stacks of books by my bed and on my bookshelf (plus about 40 titles on my Amazon.com wishlist...) that are all begging to be read. Thus, this summer I'm making a concerted effort to read more, to go back to finding my former joy in pages covered with stories, with characters both foreign and familiar to me. I've managed to finish two books thus far: Little Women and The Things they Carried. Both deserve their own posts and will likely get them in the near future. Be aware that short blurbs on what I'm reading will pop up here from time to time. Immersing myself in words is something in which I never fail to find pleasure, something that has become an essential part of my identity and that likely subconsciously affects my decision-making and the way in which I look at and approach life.

I am a book-lover, and will be for life. And I'm extremely proud of that.