Things I Love Thursday: Books!!!

My favourite book.

"I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves."
— Anna Quindlen



I was born to parents that are readers and so it was inevitable, I feel, that I became a lover of books. I remember being a young child cuddly with my dad on my brother's bed. My dad would always read us Dr Seuss and change the names of the characters to those of my brother, sister and me. We would always call him on it and he would laugh and say he was just seeing if we were paying attention; which would send us into a fit of laughter. My Mom was an epic reader in that she was always reading huge tomes, North and South or The Thorn Birds while my Dad is a lover of murder mysteries.

One of the best things my Mom did for me growing up was to sign me up for a Book of the Month Club. Each month I would come home from school to find a thin cardboard box waiting on my bed. It was like Christmas while I was opening it up; waiting to discover what 2 books were hiding inside. Because I shared a room with my sister who is 4 years older than me, I got to read all of her books as well. By the age of 10 I was reading Sweet Valley High and the Sweet Dreams series. By 13 I was a ferocious Stephen King fan and then it was V.C. Andrews.

My love of books got to the point that I asked/forced my Dad to build me my own little bookshelf. And because we didn’t have any room in our bedroom for it the shelf found its home in our closet. Today my lust for books continues and I now own over 400 of them. I can never quite explain to people just what it is about books that capture me. All I know is that I love everything about them; their smell, the way they feel while you hold them, and how unique each book is. I don’t think that I could live without books. And while I do have the occasionally readers rut, I always manage to find a book that pulls me out of my gloom and brings joy to my heart.