Read Your Weight in Books

I have a confession to make.  I am a class A bookworm and bibliophile-have been since birth.  There are few things in the world more wonderful and fulfilling than to be able to dive between the covers of a book and disappear from the world.  It is a practice as necessary to my survival as breathing.  If you were to search my backpack or purse, you would find at least one poetry book and one novel in my possession at all times.  My first purchase of nearly every paycheck is a new book, even if I haven't finished the one I am currently working on.  This results in an ever evolving stack of 4-5 books "in-progress" scattered around my house and car.  My nightstand, dresser, and desk are covered with battered copies of Jane Eyre and the latest Orson Scott Card.  The bookshelf is overflowing; books stacked two deep and piled on top.  I'd say I suffer from bibliophilia, but in truth, I love every minute of it.

I take pride in my obsession hobby and the volume of literary materials I consume.  In the words of Barbara W. Tuchman "books are the carriers of civilization...They are companions, teachers, magicians, bankers of the treasures of the mind.  Books are humanity in print."  There are also studies that show direct, positive correlation of  intelligence (as well as vocabulary size) to the amount of time an individual spends reading.  As an individual who places a great amount of importance on intelligence and literary competency, a passion for reading is both necessary and fitting.

I've never been big on the whole "new year's resolutions" thing, but this year I found one that I think I have to try.  While trolling Pinterest (biggest time suck known to man), I came across a funny pin with a tagline that read "Most literary doctors say you should read your weight in books-every year."  My initial response was nod and agree. I, of course, made the internal assumption that I was meeting this recommendation.  When I matched my annual book consumption against a scale, however, I found myself sadly lacking.  I was horrified and stunned.

Somewhere between work, college and social activities, my precious books had slid down my priorities list; no longer was reading in a constant battle against the need to sleep.  Instead, it had come to rest somewhere between watching a movie and surfing the internet.  I experienced that unpleasant, but necessary revelation that perhaps I was spending too much of my time attached to my computer and my phone. In the process of becoming a more extroverted person, I don't believe that I have to give up my bookish tendencies.  I'd much rather give up Facebook than a piece of my soul.  There is much more to be found between the pages of a book than on any back-lit screen.  (This would be a good time to explain that I'm also a purist-I prefer REAL books over any Kindle, eReader or tablet.  There is something more about the feel, the smell, the comforting weight of a book.  It feels more old fashioned that way, more honest.)

Ashamed, I turned to the nearest book on my nightstand and refused to reappear until I felt more like the bookworm I profess to be.  As expected, this resulted with a finished book at 2 am.  However, as any book lover worth their binding will tell you, staying up till all hours of the night to finish a book is ALWAYS worth it.  In the weeks that followed, I re-organized my books and my 4,000+ title long to-read list-no mean feat, I can tell you.  I plan to use this blog, if I can figure out how, to chronicle everything I read this year.  I'll keep an updated list of what I have read (and comments about the books) and what I am currently reading.  My scale doesn't register the weight of a single paperback, so I'm still working on how to record the weight.  I found that using a kitchen scale, or finding the shipping weight of the book on Amazon are the best ways to keep track of the book weight.  I hope that by the close of this year, I will see a re-emergence of the girl who used to get in trouble because she would sneak a book into class, instead of the woman who has momentarily forgot who she really is.

Wish me luck and happy reading!