Love at first sight
I must confess, I am a lifelong lover of books. Even before I learned to read I was attracted to them and it was love at first sight. I needed to know how to unlock the secrets contained within. Luckily I took to reading easily and it didn’t take long for the attraction to grow and blossom into full-blown love.
I am a voracious reader and I am in awe of the written word. There are only so many and every one is vitally important. It is in the careful arrangement of them that make all the difference. I carry these words with me as I traverse my life in this “interesting” time we live in.
Books are like old friends to me and at times they have been my only friends. They have seen me through countless waiting rooms and long bus rides. Through sleepless nights and lazy rainy Sundays, I have enjoyed their company and they have enjoyed mine. A book makes no demands. It doesn’t scold. It sits silently and waits to be picked up and read. I can curl up with a good book like a warm blanket and be comforted by the words therein.
It is not only the words in the books that comfort me. It is the books themselves. Each one has its own personality. I like the shape and feel of them. I savor the way the pages flicker between my fingertips and the sound that it makes. It’s an intimate tactile experience that could never be replaced by any electronic means.
It is difficult to describe the titillating excitement I feel upon receiving an eagerly awaited book by a favorite author, with the crack of the spine and the flip of the first page, a whole world spills out and my senses come alive with anticipation.
Books take the reader on a journey to countless places real and imagined. They can entertain and amuse. Books can inspire and give insight and knowledge that would otherwise be impossible to obtain.
Good books make me think. Excellent books make me feel as well as think. They have shaped me and have given me a deep respect and appreciation for life and all of its wonderous forms. Some have changed me profoundly and forever.
Books are a window into another universe where the possibilities are limitless.
I have favorites that change and alter as my life and love affair with stories and the written word continues. What these authors have writtten have not only influenced me as a writer and a reader but as a person as well.
Have you been shaped by books in your life? How? What books or authors have inspired you? Let me know.
For more inspiration check out my fresh quotes page for quotes on books…….and Happy Reading.
Strawberryindigo.
Life Is Color 
Unfortunately I didn’t pick up reading at an early stage and the fact that I spent more time reading technical books made be completely oblivious to the joys of reading.
But ever since I started blogging I make it a point to read books which aren’t technical and I must say I am enjoying every bit of it.
And when I see people like you who are so passionate about reading, it just fires me up to pick some new books and as you said,’..unlock the secrets contained within”.
Nice post !
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Hello AJ: I’m glad to hear you are enjoying what you are reading. I think technical books can be just as rewarding. Thanks for the comments and for stopping by.
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That’s one educated kitty!
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Hello Hello Hook: Mario, my cat is quite the cat all right. He reads all the time, but the problem is that he racks up major library fines and never has any money to pay them.
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I recently re-discovered the joys of paging through a new tome, after years spent in school reading for tests (English major – everything from Shakespeare to Chaucer, Dickinson to Yeats, from Thomas Paine to Wordsorth). Then began long period of adulthood when even my off-hours from work required reading “how to succeed books,” tech books, and writing long tech documents.
Last year, I started writing again, and the next logical step is to start reading again. Thank you for sharing your love of reading. It’s contagious!! (And wracking up those Amazon charges!)
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@ K.B.:Hello fellow booklover. Sometimes there can be nothing better than reading an anticipated book that you WANT to read. Thanks for the kind words and for stoppping by.
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I feel sad for anyone who doesn’t love books – there are so many worlds to explore through them. I can never get enough of them.
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Hey @Peas and Cougars: Me too.
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By all means, read them, love and learn from them, JUST DON’T OWN THEM. After a couple of decades of collecting, you end up renting storage space to keep them in. I posted a few days age about selling, donating and giving away several thousand of ours. I still love them all, but the chairs are for us to sit in, not them.
Fiction’s my favorite, all eras ancient to now, including plays. Dickens, Hesse, Camus, Twain, Shakespeare, Shaw, Hemingway, Steinbeck, Chandler, Heinlein, Doctorow. My wife (retired journalist) reads non-fiction almost exclusively. Good topic!
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@Invisible Mikey: I read your post about the books and found it quite good. I wish I could have trick or treated at your house. What a great idea! And what an impressive list of authors. I’m like your wife and I read NF almost exclusively as well.
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I have one objection to what you wrote. You said there are only so many books. I disagree with that. There are so many books, books that I would love to reread but haven’t made the time for because there are so many books that I haven’t read that I would like to.
I also have to share an anecdote based upon something else in your post. The last time I was sick and went to see a doctor I thought I would outsmart them and brought a book with me so my wait wouldn’t feel like it was as long as I knew it was going to be (the book was American Gods by Neil Gaiman). I got to the doctor’s office about 25 minutes before my appointment and after I signed in I started to read. I read about a page before I was called back into the exam room. I started reading again and got through about a page before the nurse came in for the general checkup stuff (blood pressure, etc.). Once the nurse left I started reading again waiting for the doctor to arrive, and again I only got through about a page before the doctor came in. Overall I was only able to read about 3 pages and I actually went home before my appointment was scheduled to begin. Apparently when they know you’re prepared to wait a while they decide to hurry up and waste your reading time.
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@Adam, I share your pain. It’s the classic lament of a true lover of books. Never enough reading time. Thanks for the comment. …ps…you must have excellent health care.
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I have always loved reading. The same is true of my husband too. We have bookcases that are overflowing and stacks of books here there and everywhere. lol 😀 We both tend to read more than one book at a time. Many authors have influenced me over the years — far too many to list. I like classic novels and mysteries and I frequently re-read them.
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@timethief; I too, read more than one book at a time. I like to have a variety of subjects going at once. It keeps the mind agile. I guess we are what we read. Thanks for the comment. ps..don’t get buried under the stacks. You might get lost and they wouldn’t find you for days.
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