My Socially Acceptable Addiction

"Hello. My name is Emily."

"Hello, Emily."

"And I am.....a reader."

"Emily, when did you start reading?"

"I've been reading since I was a child. I mean really it made sense. My parents are readers and so they had books all over our home, so I had the access. My mother even read books to us, before we could read ourselves, which they say is a risk factor, so it really was only a matter of time. But, as is common, my reading really took off in adolesense. In seventh grade, all of my friends moved away so I would go to the library every day and check out two books and have them read by the time I went to school the next day."

"Whoa."

"I know. It was nothing heavy, just Sweet Valley High, but Elizabeth and Jessica got me through that year until I made new friends. "

"So when did you feel like you became, you know, an addicted reader?"

"It came on gradually over my life. In childhood I would reread the same books over and over again. The Boxcar Children, Heidi, The Secret Garden, Anne of Green Gables, and Little Women. In high school it was the classics, Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, the Brontes. I actually took somewhat of a break in college because my reading was so closely tied to school that when I had free time books were the last place I looked, but during breaks I would always binge. After college, I started expanding past the classics that consumed me in high school and explored modern authors until I found my niche. Now, I read memoirs and fiction, mostly. But I've started even reading the newspaper (online of course). Reading impacts my sleep, I often stay up late to finish a book because I HAVE  to find out what happens!"

"We've been there. We know."

 I read when I eat (but only at lunch so no one will suspect.) I even started reading after I had my baby...in the hospital."

"No."

"Yes.I read when I nurse.  And sometimes my kids, who I know have been exposed to books now because of my behavior, will ask me to put my book down and pay attention."

"We understand."

"I avoid housework, especially laundry so I can read."

"We are here to help, what can we do?"

"Well, the reason I'm here is I'm almost done with the last book on my reading list.........So, do you have any recommendations?"