Got home after 7pm tonight but for once it wasn’t due to overtime. One of the bonuses of working at a college or university is that they have libraries. I love libraries. Tonight I spent some time culling through a bunch of databases at ours to complete a literature search for a paper.

I’ve always loved to read. There’s just something wonderful about books. Ever since I was a little girl I’ve been going to libraries. It was our Saturday morning ritual with my dad when we were kids. While he poked about in the crime and sci-fi section my sister and I poked about the children’s section. We always left with mitt fulls of books. Mum even enrolled us in a book reading camp one summer at the main library downtown.

I barely remember going to bed as a child and not seeing my dad sitting at the kitchen table reading a book with a few more stacked by his elbow. And mum? She was frequently curled up on the couch reading. No wonder I’d hide under the covers with a flashlight and read for a few hours at bedtime each night.

Dad was still reading books for hours a day right up until a few weeks before he passed away.

Considering my love for books it should come as no surprise that I married a reader. We frequently read the same books. I get first dibs since I’m a speedier reader. Since he’s been gone he’s had less access to reading materials. We’ve been sending him books for weeks now in the hopes he’ll keep himself occupied and make a good contribution to the KAF library when he leaves.

It seems only my sister has managed to avoid being bitten by the reading bug. Even then, she still reads on occassion.

I can’t imagine being unable to read. Not being able to find comfort and joy in letters and pages – the thought scares me deeply.

Other great book memories include all the times I’d paw through boxes and stacks of books at the local swap meet at Parkway and McAllister Malls on Sunday’s after church. Finding a hardcover Nancy Drew I didn’t already own was the hi-lite of my trip.

And I can’t forget the sheer excitement of bringing the Scholastic book flyer home from elementary school a few times a year. The thrill of deciding which books to ask my parents to order could only be surpassed by the joy of book delivery day. I’d devour the books as soon as they arrived home.

Yeah. I’m a book nerd from way back. Proud of it too!

The most special of my childhood books – the collection (unabridged) of Grimm’s fairy tales my dad gave me for my 8th birthday, the Judy Blume collection from my parents and my old Nancy Drew’s – have traveled with me from one end of the country to the other over the years. A few years back I fell into a pit of nostalgia and bought some of my all time favourite childhood books to add to my smaller collection. I have a small bookcase filled with them now.

As the years pass and technology changes I find I’m buying more and more books in eBook format. I’ve read books on iPaq’s (have I just dated myself?), laptops, and now on my iPhone. In fact, the ability to read books on my iPhone is my absolute favourite feature. It makes the original expense of purchasing my fancy little phone well worth every penny.

And the 130+ books I’ve downloaded to read on it fill me with glee. I’m giddy with the thought of making my way through them.

I’d never survive as a librarian. Nor work in a publishing house. Too much organization involved and it would ruin the mystique. I don’t want anything to interfere with my sordid love affiar with the written word. No wonder I read 300+ books a year. I’m an addict and proud of it.

Now you’ll have to excuse me. I have a book to read.

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