Addiction

1: to devote or surrender (oneself) to something habitually or obsessively

2: compulsive need for and use of a habit-forming substance (as heroin, nicotine, or alcohol) characterized by tolerance and by well-defined physiological symptoms upon withdrawal

3: persistent compulsive use of a substance known by the user to be harmful

What's that they say? "Two out of three isn't bad"? I have to admit to my addiction - I believe that's the first step anyway! I'm pretty sure I have an addiction to books. I am a book addict. Or a reading addict. Either way it involves me and books. If you were to poll my house members, my daughter would say (and has said several times) that I am a "book hoarder". My husband might not verbalize his thoughts, but the look I get when I walk in with another stack is the look a disapproving friend would give an alcoholic who just walked in with a 40 oz!

I asked my husband yesterday (in the context of career), what I could do that involved reading books, reading book reviews, studying new releases online, joining online book clubs, visiting the library multiple times per week and buying books every time I get the chance, he said he didn't know anyone who would pay me to read and buy books. I was very disappointed. What happened to doing what you love and you'll never work a day in your life? I've heard that quote and I bet you have too!

As I've mentioned before, my only New Year's Resolution for 2011 was to read 100 books. I figured this would be a resolution that wouldn't make me cringe thinking about it as soon as I woke up, like a "6AM gym class 3 times a week" kind of resolution would. I am enjoying this resolution - why didn't I do this sooner?

My part time work schedule does allow for my reading time, however I read in the car line at school, in the waiting room of my office, in my truck in parking lots between errands, while drinking coffee at my favorite coffee house, and over lunches when I'm eating alone. I carry books around with me just in case I have a few minutes of waiting somewhere. I feel like I'm only half dressed if I find myself without a book. I've been known to read food labels if I'm desperate.

Growing up we didn't have a TV in the house, but always had books, magazines and trips to the library to keep us busy. I used to go to bed and sneak a book under the covers and read until the wee hours of the morning. Now I do it with a lamp and no sneaking! I have stacks of books that are my bookshelf overflow. I really try to keep them neat, but it's beginning to look a lot like clutter. In addition to my personal "to-read" pile, I have a stack of (currently) 15 books on loan from the library that I am reading or will read in the coming weeks. The library employees are getting to know me by name, as they call several times a week to let me know a book request I submitted has arrived and is ready to be picked up.

What is it about books that pulls me in? I know people who love to read, but only read a book or two a month. I, on the other hand, feel like I'm being a bit lazy about my reading if it takes me three days to read a book. I have found blog after blog of other readers who adore books and reading like I do. I referenced Nina Sankovitch previously, the author of "Tolstoy and the Purple Chair", who on her 46th birthday, started a commitment to read one book a day for a year, and successfully blogged about each of them.

I would suppose that a book addiction speaks to each addict differently. For me, growing up, books took me to places I couldn't go, places I would rather have been, I met people I would never get to meet, I learned things I otherwise might not know, and it filled my time with all these dreams and wonderful possibilities. I've continued that in my adulthood, at times being too busy to read like I am currently, but always enjoying it, and always collecting books. I have more books than square feet in my house. (Quantity-wise). I can't bear to part with them, and love to reread my favorites. Thankfully, much of my extended family enjoys reading as well, so I am able to share my book finds, or send books as presents and no one ever seems to mind. For me, the perfect gift would be, coffee, books and a massage. Any gift giving occasion could be adequately fulfilled with a combination of those three things.

Reading a book can give me permission to be sad or cry, and I can blame it on the books instead of my mood or hurt feelings. It can make me laugh, make me stop and ponder a thought, write down a line or a quote, and generally cure what ails me. I find comfort in books.

I read a quote from "Tolstoy and the Purple Chair" today that I really liked. It said, "We are what we love to read, and when we admit to loving a book, we admit that the book represents some aspect of ourselves truly, whether it is that we are suckers for romance or pining for adventure or secretly fascinated by crime."

This is one of my favorite and most time consuming hobbies. Some people fish or hunt, not just for the food, but for the thrill of the catch or the calm of the stillness. Some people paint to express physically what they see in their mind as beautiful. Some sing, or play to use music to express their soul. I find my dreams, my heroes and my alter egos in books.