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| Addict? |
It shouldn't surprise anyone that I like to read. I've counted, and I read about eleven books every month. Hmmm...Let me get out my calculator for a minute... That's 132 books a year.
132 books.
That's on top of my own writing, critiquing for others, and the stocking of blogs, all of which I do on a regular basis.
People often ask me... How do you find time to read? My answer, how does an alcoholic find time to drink?
Taking a turn for the serious here. I think I might be an addict. Seriously.
I can't walk past a new book without picking it up, and once I've started, I can't stop reading until I've read the words "The end." And even then, I often flip the last few blank pages back and forth hoping to find words written on them. When I'm in story-land, I walk around in a story-induced haze. I'm no good for conversation until that dern novel is finished. That's not normal.
See, I'm not one of those people who can read a chapter and then put it down and do something productive.
I'm not a social reader.
I hide my reading. My husband will come home and ask me what I did that day, and I sure as heck won't say "Oh, I read for seven hours, and then did the dishes, made dinner, got me and the kids dressed - all in the half hour it took you to drive home."
I have a secret stash of books. I have withdrawals when I'm not reading or writing. My work, my recreation, and even my friends all center around my reading.
I allow all of this... maybe justify is the better word... because it is my job.No, I haven't been paid for it yet. Thanks for asking.
This is what I want to do for a living. And I, perhaps delusion-ally, think that it's going to happen.
One day I will be published. One day my book will be the opiate for somebody else. One day my book may get between a reader and her family.
Do you?
~Sheena Boekweg
My 8-y.o. is an avid reader, to the point where he could stay in one spot all day long and never budge as long as he had a pile of books (bladder of steel, this kid). Other parents talk about how to get their kids to read more, and I find myself saying: "Are you sure reading is such a great thing? I mean, it's really addictive. My house is a sty and some days I barely get everyone fed if I've got a good book going. Maybe it's not entirely productive."
ReplyDeleteAnd they look at me like I'm nuts! Go figure.
I can't wait to get lost in your book, Sheena :)
I can get pretty obsessed with reading too. I actually have to take breaks between books to spend time with my family.
ReplyDeleteBut 132 books a year, I'm no where near that. Way to go Sheena.
Wait, am I being an enabler?
This describes me perfectly!
ReplyDeleteAnd Sarah, I have a daughter just like your son--she read more books in 6th grade than the rest of her reading class PUT TOGETHER and then doubled.
Now she's 14, and suddenly she only reads as much as a normal reader of books. I'm happy that she's finally living her life, but it makes me sad in a way. I suppose we all have times in our life when we read more than others. Except Sheena. :)