I have a small obsession

Obsession, addiction, fixation, whatever you want to call it. That's me. I can't stop buying books. I have spent countless hours wandering bookstores, searching for the all elusive perfect book. I can't stop.

I love books.

I love the joy of finding a book that fits me. I love bringing it home, opening it for the first time, being drawn into the story, and exiting real life for a brief moment in time.

Suspended reality.

That's what reading is. For a moment you can be someone else, in another place and time entirely. Your job, your worries, your stress. They're gone. All that matters is the world you are absorbed in. A world that is drawn in your head simply by reading words on a page. It's marvelous, really, when you think about the imagination that goes into reading. It isn't just seeing the words; it's giving them meaning.

The characters, the worlds, the plots, they stay with you. They become a part of who you are. Years later, you might be reminded of something you once read in a book. And it will bring a smile to your face.

Reading is rewarding. Yes, I'm like a PSA for reading. But the whole point of that was just so that I could adequately describe my love of reading. And my addiction. The books collect in our house. On shelves, tables, dressers. One of my favorite parts of reading is passing a great book along. I don't keep them after I'm done, unless they are exceptional. The ones that will forever stay in my possession are Jane Austen and Harry Potter.

So here is proof of my latest spending spree. My pile of worlds yet to be indulged in.


Comparatively, here is Matt's pile. He has yet to convince me to give up the traditional book in favor of a Nook ;)