Saturday, June 7, 2014

My Addiction

Okay, it’s time to admit it; I have an addiction.  There, I said it….. phew!   

No, it’s not booze or drugs or cigarettes.  It’s books. 

I can’t help myself; they are everywhere!  It seems like there is always a new book out from one of my favoured authors or from somebody I’ve never heard of that piques my interest.  I have a member card from Chapters/Indigo so, of course, I receive regular emails with suggestions of “books you might like” or sales both online and in-store.  I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been sucked in by those.   

As you know from past posts, I am an avid reader and absolutely love the feeling of a book in my hand.  I can’t imagine moving to an e-reader just because I love turning pages.  You know how calm and happy a smoker looks when they take that first haul on a cigarette after not having one for a while?  Well replace that cigarette with a book and you’ve pretty much got the look of contentment on my face as I open a new book to the first page. 

Time for a clean-out maybe?

It’s my form of escapism that is not self-destructive.  Okay, maybe I don’t get out as much as I ought to because there are days when I’d rather spend time on my balcony with a good book and a cup (or two) of tea but, still, it’s not the worst addiction that I could have. 

You want to know how bad I am?  Let me tell you…. 

The other day, I stopped at the mall on the way home from work to pick something up and my path took me past the book store.  I literally had to walk by with my gaze averted chanting a little mantra; “I am not here to buy books…. I am not here to buy books….I am not here to buy books…..”  I was like a crack addict trying to walk past her dealer without caving in and buying some.  I am absolutely incapable of walking into a book store just to “browse” without walking out with at least one book.  As a matter of fact, walking out with only one is considered showing restraint in my world. 

I’d say that I need help but I’m not sure that this is a “problem” that I want help with.  As long as my kids are fed and the bills are paid, I’ve pretty much got things under control.  That being said, if you ever see my kids on the corner holding signs that say “will work for food”, you may want to plan an intervention.  



Kathy

12 comments:

  1. Holy Cow you have a lotta books! For some reason that picture makes me very happy though. I used to love reading books. Then I started blogging and haven't had time for reading books at all. It seems I'm always reading blogs, articles, or writing. I'm thinking maybe I need to get back in the habit of at least reading a book for a little while every day. Maybe it would calm my mind down a bit.

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    1. It makes me happy too! I admit that squeezing in my blog time, reading time and family time (among other things like, um, work) can get a bit hard but somehow I manage it. It helps that I have my lunch hour and travelling time on the bus for reading.

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  2. Hahhahaa story of my life. I can't drive past a book store without that twitch to pull in and BUY ALL THE BOOKS! Haha.

    I say it's a wonderful start to a massive library.

    Okay. I am an enabler. LOL

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    1. I don't think that you'll be invited to my intervention, lol!

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  3. I know this feeling so well! I have shelves full myself and will never stop adding more! I love the feel of a book in my hand and (call me crazy!) the smell of a book. I do have an e-reader but use if very rarely. Come to think of it, I don't know where it is.....

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    1. I so totally get it! The smell of a new book is just so amazing! I just got an iPad and have switched my newpaper and magazine reading to it (blog post coming!) but don't see myself doing the ebook thing.

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    1. Yep! I'm at a point where I'm either going to have to weed some out for donation/sale or get another set of shelves :)

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  5. You need to find a used book store, STAT! :-)

    I love the convenience of an e-reader, but I hate the fact that if it breaks or there is a power outage, all my books are trapped inside. I prefer paper still.

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    1. I do sometimes go to used book stores and have made some good finds there. Still, though, I have a "thing" for opening a NEW book. At least I'm not doing drugs......

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  6. I love books too. If there's an addiction to have that's a good one. Unfortunately I don't read books as much as I use to but when I do I go into my own world, ignoring everybody around me.
    Angela @ Time with A & N

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    1. I call it the adult version of "time-out" except in a good way ;)

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