Welcome to the Book Blogger Hop,
hosted by Billy @
For more information, and
to find out the topic of next week's question, click HERE.
What to Do
1.) Post on your blog answering this week's
question:
"Reading is my passion." Can you
say that this sentence
describes you?
(submitted by Elizabeth @ Silver's Reviews)
2.) Enter the link to your post in the
Linky list on Billy's blog.
3.) Visit other blogs on the list and
comment on their posts.
4.) Be sure to find out next week's
question when you visit
Ramblings of a Coffee-Addicted Writer!
My Answer
Reading, and the pleasure of surrounding myself with books -- REAL BOOKS, mind you, by which I mean, exclusively, PRINTED BOOKS -- are the things I literally live for. My whole life revolves around books!! Well, I do have to go to work, but aside from that, my PASSION is BOOKS!!!!! (Well, okay, I'm also passionate about my husband, lol. )
Readers of my blog might recall the following story, which I shared in another Book Blogger Hop post, and which my mom told me many years ago. This story perfectly illustrates just how early my love for the printed word actually began. I don't remember it, because I was only 2 years old at the time. Here it is..... According to my mom, I was a VERY active toddler. In other words, I drove her crazy! She was a stay-at-home mom, and needed some time every afternoon in order to get some housework done. Well, she hit upon the PERFECT way to keep me out of trouble! She would put me in a playpen in the middle of the living room, where she could keep an eye on me from time to time. Now, did she put a favorite doll in the pen for me to play with? Did she put in a much-loved teddy bear? Nope! She would put the latest issue of "Reader's Digest" magazine in the pen, right next to me. And what do you suppose I did with it? Did I tear it up, and throw it around the playpen, as other kids might have? NOT! Mom recounts that I would sit there quietly, the magazine in my lap, and quietly, slowly, turn the pages, carefully looking at everything on those pages. I would do this for quite a while, too. When I finally got tired of looking through the magazine, I would just put it aside and fall asleep right next to it.
So, as you can see, I was born a reader, as well as an ardent bibliophile!! As time went on, my love of books increased exponentially. In the early years, I would be happy when I received toys for Christmas, and on my birthdays. But, as my reading skills improved, I increasingly wanted only one type of present: a BOOK.
I wanted to POSSESS books of my own. I hated going to the library, because I would invariably fall in love with borrowed books, and hate to have to return them.... In fact, it's been YEARS since I've been to a library! So of course I no longer have a library card. Lol.
As soon as I started earning my own money, I began to add to my book collection. And I began to buy books compulsively. Things got to the point that my parents began to refuse to buy me books for Christmas and birthdays. They would say, "You've already got more than enough books. What you need is clothes and other practical things!" GROAN. Have any of you ardent bookworms ever heard your parents or other relatives say this to you? Don't you just want to SCREAM when they do?! And, to make matters worse, now it's my non-bookworm husband who says it!!!! AAAARRRRGHH!!!!!
Well, anyway.....I think you get the picture. I.LOVE. BOOKS. Furthermore, there's NO ONE who can take this away from me!!!! This is the way I am. I was BORN this way, for Pete's sake!!! So I say to my well-meaning family: "Yes, I know you think I'm OBSESSED. I know you think my BOOK ADDICTION IS OVER OVER THE TOP. Well, guess what? Nothing can be done about it. I certainly can't do anything about it, just like I can't change where I was born. Just cut me some slack, because at least I don't consume toxic substances!!" Lol.
And this next quote sums everything up VERY nicely:
What are your thoughts on
this topic?
Please leave a comment,
and I'll go check out your post!
I ALWAYS love your answers. So thorough and well thought out.
ReplyDeleteThanks for being a part of The Book Blogger Hop.
Happy Hopping!!
Elizabeth
Silver's Reviews
My Blog Hop Answer
Hi, Elizabeth!
DeleteAw.....thanks for being so nice! Well, I guess I just can't write brief answers, lol.
In this particular case, I wanted to show just how MUCH I ADORE books!!
Happy Hopping to you, too!! Hope you're having an AWESOME Saturday!!
Thanks for leaving such an appreciative comment!! You ROCK!! <3 :)
Great post as usual Maria.
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting that you mentioned Readers Digest. They were also laying around my house when I was young. I think that it was something that was true for a lot of households in the 1960s through the 1980s.
I remember reading a lot from them. I used to devour them I acquired knowledge on issues ranging from history, to current events to science. I have spoken to a few other folks who have had the same experience.
Hey, Brian!
DeleteThanks for the good word!! :)
I think that indeed, "Reader's Digest" magazine was read by a lot of people in the decades you mention. I don't know if that's still the case, but I do see it for sale at our local Publix store.
This is indeed a very interesting magazine! Of course, I wasn't reading the articles when I was 2 years old. But later on, like when I was around 9 or 10, I started to. I also liked the condensed books they always included. I still remember how sad I felt when I read the story of Janis Babson. She was a Canadian girl who contracted leukemia when she was 8, and died when she was 10. She was loved by everyone she came in contact with her, and was considered "a little saint". That story affected me SO profoundly that I even named my favorite doll after her! Even after all this time, I still remember this condensed book.
During my first marriage, one of my brothers-in-law at the time, who was also a reader, actually gave me a one-year subscription to "Reader's Digest". I GREATLY appreciated that!!
It's very likely that many people who are avid readers probably got their start as readers with this wonderful magazine! You know, I might just pick up a copy, next time I go to the supermarket!
Thanks for the GREAT comment!! :)
I love the story you shared about the Reader's Digest. :-) I think it would have ended across the room with a great big through if that had been Mouse. Haha She used to love pulling books off my shelves, the ones she could reach as early as she could pull herself up to stand. She's not the most kind to books, I'm afraid, despite my efforts to drill it into her to be careful turning pages.
ReplyDeleteI rarely use the library for myself, although I probably should. We go for Mouse now and then, but not as often as we used to when she was younger. I have always preferred to own the books I read, but I have so many unread books now . . . I do not buy books very often anymore. My shelves are already full. I told myself when we moved into our current house five years ago, I wouldn't let it get like it was at our old house, where I had a spare bedroom filled with books, furniture, floor, closet, every surface possible. There was just enough room to maybe sit on the floor in one spot to admire the books, but it really was a hoarder's paradise in there. And that wasn't even counting the books on the shelves and piles in other parts of the house. With a new baby around, it wasn't safe, anyway. Having to move many of those books was a cure of sorts for my book buying habit, you could say. I think that's why e-readers are so dangerous in my hands. So many books, unseen, taking up hardly any space at all. LOL Anyway, my house is full of books--hardly a room without them. Actually, no room without them.
I am really lucky to be able to own so many of my own books. Not everyone has that luxury. It really comes down to the reading though, doesn't it? We love to read and that really is at the heart of it, no matter where the books come from or the format of the books.
Have a great week, Maria!
Hi, Wendy!
DeleteI'm glad you enjoyed my little story! Yeah, I was a VERY active toddler, and Mom must have been at her wit's end, lol. So she hit upon this brilliant idea of putting me in a playpen with a copy of "Reader's Digest". I wish I could remember this.... But you can see how very early my passion for books began!
Not all kids would have sat there, patiently looking through that magazine. But even when they're not so kind to books, their book-loving parents can teach them to treat books better.
I see that you're not fond of libraries, either, lol. I really have nothing against them. It's just that I NEED to own the books I want to read!! So we're definitely on the same page regarding libraries! (Pun intended, of course.)
I can also relate to your book hoarding! Yes, I'm a book hoarder, as well! Hubby and I used to live in a three-bedroom apartment, in another part of Miami. One of the bedrooms was really more of a "Florida room", as they call it here, or den, but we used it exclusively for storage of tools and other stuff. The other bedroom was totally taken up by my books! I had two small bookcases in there, and about ten boxes full of books!! Well, we moved in March of last year. The great thing is that we now live in a much nicer area, with beautiful landscaping all around. We bought a beautiful condo! Unfortunately, we were unable to get a larger one, because of the prices. So we now have a one-bedroom apartment.... I was forced to donate a LOT of my books to Goodwill. So I picked the ones I KNEW I would probably never read. There were a LOT of romance novels included in that group. However, there were also many books I just could NOT part with, so I decided to rent a storage unit. Fortunately, I'm not paying that much, as these units can get VERY expensive. Mine costs $69.55 a month. Hubby has been asking me what I'm going to do with those books, which are all in plastic boxes, stacked from floor to ceiling, lol. I honestly don't know..... I try not to think about it.
In my case, I much prefer printed books. Yes, I do have over 100 ebooks on my Android phone's Kindle app, but my heart will always belong to physical books!! Now that we live in this smaller place, I really do have to try to curb my buying of physical books....
Thanks so much for the AWESOME comment!! Hope you have a great week, as well!! <3 :)