Vicarious

Many of you know that I am in love with books.  Not only the stories, but the actual books themselves.  I love leafing through the pages of a new book, smelling it, and hearing the soft cracking when the cover of a brand new hard back is being opened for the first time.  Never do I allow my books to get wet in the stormy weather, and I never read in the bathtub because I'm terrified that I will drop the book in and it will forever be ruined.  So, because I treasure my books so much, I also want to make sure the stories are worth my money.  I will research a book before I ever purchase it.  If I know nothing about it, I will read the synopsis, editorial reviews, customer reviews, and put it on my wish list for a while until I'm sure it's a book I want.  I stew and stew about a book for a ridiculous amount of time before it's ever purchased.

Right now all of you probably think that I'm a total nerd, and I'd have to agree with you.  I never understood why I do this.  I understand that it's important to use money for good things and not buy something that I don't even want.  Originally, I thought this was why I research for so long.  But, books are the one thing that I continue to purchase even when I don't have a steady stream of income.  So, obviously, frugality is not the reason.

It occurred to me the other day, just how much I live my life through fiction.  So, if I live my life through every book I happen to be reading at that particular time, it's important that I live my life right, don't you think?  In essence, I'm saying that I not only research the stories I want to read, but I research the life I want to live.  The good news in all of this is I'm rarely disappointed with the books I buy.  Young adult literature has so many excellent stories with turmoil, love troubles, joy, and usually happy endings.  I think that's maybe the reason I read so many of them.

In short, I have a love affair with the written word, and I'm glad to share that love with all of you!
Happy Reading!