She Reads Books...

Today I was able to get out of the house and into what seems to be infinitely cold and blustery winter. For some reason I thought it'd be a great day to grab a coffee and pop into the used book store. I don't know why I thought buying books would be a good idea (especially when it's freezing out) since I already own way too many books I have yet to read, but it happened anyway.

I'm sitting here looking at just one of the stacks of books I own that I've been meaning to get to and feeling slightly guilty for buying two unnecessary books today. But are books really ever unnecessary? I mean it's not like I don't read any books, it's just that I'm a slow reader with an extremely long to-read list. A list that seems to multiply by the second. I've definitely been taking advantage of these months of unemployment by crossing off more books on my list than I probably ever have in years past. Often I worry that I measure life from one book to the next and wonder if I'm appreciating each story enough. Sometimes I catch myself thinking about my next book within the first ten pages of the one I'm reading.

I just finished two books that I borrowed from a friend (Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn and Night by Elie Wiesel) and am currently reading one of my mom's books (Merlin Trilogy by Mary Stewart). I also took the time to start Walden by Thoreau (one of my purchases today) while sitting around at the bookstore drinking coffee. The other book I bought today was Wild by Cheryl Strayed.

Part of me just wishes I could read everything all at once. I want fill myself to the brim with worlds and words and characters and all the experiences that one can have through reading. I hope there never comes a day when I get remotely close to zero books in my to-read pile, for that would be that I have stopped caring about books altogether.

-S