Tuesday, July 22

Books must be read!

I don't think anyone has enabled, and suffered for, my love of reading more than my mom. She's the rock star that knows how precious an hour or so in a Barnes & Noble is to me, and endeavors to entertain my kid so I may have it. One of my birthday presents every year? B&N membership so I get a price percentage off books throughout the year. Also, she's sure that Santa always leaves a B&N gift card in my stocking every year. And that's just how she's spoiled me over the last few years. Prior to that, it was trips to the bookstore, piles of books brought home, and encouragement to learn and grow and be entertained by what I was/am reading. Oh, she is the best.
How has she been made to suffer in all this? Well, my reading can become somewhat ... monopolizing ... of my attention. I've got to have a book everywhere I go, and I tend to lack focus on anything else until said book is finished. Vacation? Books must be read. Summer? Books must be read! Weekend? BOOKS MUST BE READ!!
I remember fondly a moment one night when I was in high school. We had gone to the book store earlier in the week, and Mom had bought me a nice pile of new tomes. I was halfway through the second one, and reading in my room before dinner. I guess she'd been calling me, or something, I don't know, but she came storming into my room, snatched up the rest of the pile of books, gave me THE LOOK, and then stalked out of the room. Apparently, my attention was required elsewhere.
Fast forward to last night, when I said this to her: "I think I'm going to go to Barnes & Noble tomorrow. I've decided that I'm not reading my Summer Reading List books because my brain is on the last one. I need to know what happens next in the Mortal Instruments books. I'm going to pick up the rest of them in the morning. Nothing else is interesting to me right now."
The silence on the phone, whether intentional or not, was deafening to me. All I could hear was her brain screaming, "Don't you DARE buy those books and start them before my weekend out there!!"
So of course, now that I actually have the second book in the series, I feel better about waiting for Sunday afternoon to start reading it. I can see it on my nightstand, and I can even sneak a peek at the first chapter, and then set it down. Because the last thing I want is for her to come into my room and confiscate my books again.

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