“Book Love” by Jenny Kaczorowski
It began innocently enough: a brand new copy of Goodnight Moon and parents patient enough to read it to me night after night after night. But Goodnight Moon was the gateway drug for many of my generation, and I soon turned to more hard-core reads, such as Pickle-Chiffon Pie and Little Rabbit’s Loose Tooth.
In elementary school, our librarian fed us a steady supply of Shel Silverstein and Beverly Cleary. Once a year R.I.F. spread shiny new paperbacks on the school library tables and fed my addiction with one free book. Many a child joined the leagues of reading addicts after those visits. I was in love — obsessed, even. Libraries, bookstores, Scholastic fliers — I couldn’t get enough.
In middle school, melodrama ruled the day, usually with a good dose of paranormal phenomena thrown in. Christopher Pike and Lois Duncan kept me company every evening. My school work began to suffer. I neglected my friends, my family. I begged for one more chapter, one more paragraph whenever the outside world demanded my attention.
By high school I had turned to stealing books from my parents’ shelves. I smuggled battered Harlequins, travelogues, and classics to school, getting my fix between every class. Until I earned my drivers’ license. Then any book in the public library was fair game.
In college I majored in English, and learned to hide my addiction. I took to carrying classics and slim volumes of poetry to literature classes filled with snobby students who looked down on genre fiction and, like me, pretended they did not read themselves to sleep each night with a good novel.
I’ve gone through other phases: young adult lit in grad school, mysteries after that. I found others who share my addiction. I no longer feel shame when I crack open a paperback in public and smell the fresh paper, admire the shiny cover, delve into each seductive story, because I now know that I am not alone.
For most of us, an addiction to reading is not picky. Suspense, historicals, science fiction, classics, contemporary literature — we’ll read it all. In the end, even cereal boxes and shampoo bottles are appealing if there’s nothing else. Because after a lifetime of addiction, a junkie can always find the next fix.
I loved the scholastic fliers. By the time I got home, I had tons of books marked and had to whittle my list to stay in Mom’s budget. I don’t think I could stop reading if I tried. As you said, shampoo bottles and shaving cream cans…. whatever is available.
I took speed reading in college, a move I’ve since regretted since I burn through books so quickly!
Thanks for visiting, I’ve enjoyed your site, including your stumble upon addiction. If only there were more time!
DId you ever see Matida? The little girl pulls her little red wagon to and from the library just piled high with books? Well, that was me, except I used a shopping cart and most of the times, at least until I was 10, my mother went with me. I would fill up my cart with 15 to 20 books every month. Yes I adore books and I loved this post!
RIF!!! Oh, it’s been years since I thought about that. I too have had a lifelong love affair with books. If I could live in a house with bookshelves for walls, I would.
Oh, what a kindred spirit! I LOVED Scholastic fliers–still do. I think I’m more excited than my kids now when they bring them home. And school book fairs? Heaven! Now it’s mostly the library with a little Amazon action and some B&N/Borders thrown in. I’ll never get enough! Nor do I wish to.
Bookmom, that’s a wonderful mother you had there. And please stop by any time. 🙂 I enjoyed your site and will be back, too.
Asthmagirl, those Scholastic flier days were magical! The only thing better than receiving a brand new flier filled with enticing books was the actual arrival of said books.
Ello, that is so me, too! I’m so glad my parents were so patient with my reading. They were very big proponents of trips to the library and the bookstore. My mom still makes library trips a regular part of her weekly routine.
Jess, I would, too! A nearby house has an actual turret that I hear is filled with books. I am so jealous. I’m still trying to figure out how to wrangle an invitation so I can stand inside it and bask in the glory for a while.
Alyssa, I’d completely forgotten about book fairs! I loved those.
You’re so not alone in your addiction! If I could keep my nose buried in a book all day, I would. And Goodnight Moon…oh, one of my all time favorites!
Thanks for visiting my blog and talking about another kind of addiction today! Your site is great and I’ll be back.
Hi, my name is Travis and I too am an addict.
Caryn, wanted to stop by and say hi! Great place too. I LUV reading, and pretty much had permanent dark circles under my eyes in grade school and high school. I took a flashlight and book to bed with me most nights. Now, I can read as late as I want. LOL.
I find myself addicted to books themselves. I love to touch them, sniff them, run my fingers through their hair. Don’t you just love looking at a bookcase full of books and enjoying the torture of deciding what to read first?
Robin, I would do the same! Too bad the world has to intrude, isn’t it? And thanks for reciprocating the visit!
LOL, Travis! I wondered when that would come up. 😉
Thanks for stopping by, LaDonna! I, too, had a history of sneaking in reading long after I was supposed to be in bed. It made for numerous difficult mornings, but they were worth it. Now the ultimate luxury is to spend an entire day on the couch with a book.
Daring One, I do the same thing. They are just so beautiful, so enticing, each with its own little world inside.