I was just catching up on my friend LaRae's blog and I noticed her "books I'm reading this year" list. I spent some time on Amazon looking them each up and reading excerpts. It made me realize once again how many good books there are in the world and how I'm never going to have time to read them all.
It's always a frustrating realization for me...I LOVE to read. Always have...since the summer after third grade when we moved to New Mexico and books were the only friends I had in that new place. I can remember sitting on the bed in the room I shared with my brothers and reading all summer long. I have never quit...I always have at least one fiction book I'm reading upstairs and one downstairs. I have a "church book," a "serious book," and a classic most times too. I read my scriptures and my church lessons and magazines. I read three scrapbook magazines, Good Housekeeping, Family Circle, Family Fun, Desert Saints, LDS Living, Boulder City Magazine, and Woman's Day.
When I find a new author I enjoy I have to read every book in the series, most preferably in order. I read while I curl my hair; I read while I put on my shoes in the morning; I read while I wait at the doctor and dentist; I read while I wait in the car to pick up the kids after school; I read at least a little in bed every night no matter how tired I am. I listen to books on CD when I drive the car alone. I sometimes even sit down in a chair in the middle of the day and read for ten minutes.
I love the feel of books. I love to hold them in my hands. I love to see them on my shelves. I love the feel of the paper and the smell of the ink in new books. I love to bend the spine and flip the pages of a new paperback. (Sorry, Amy.) I just LOVE books. One of my favorite children's books is "Inkheart" and if you've read it, you'll immediately understand why.
There are four things I LOVE to do when I ever have any spare time. I love to scrapbook. I love to sew, especially quilts, dolls, and kids' costumes. I love to write. And I LOVE to read. But if I had to give up everything else and only do one thing I love, I would have to choose reading. If I couldn't read, my life just wouldn't be the same.
I'm so grateful to have the opportunity to indulge my "passion."