Books, books, and more books

Writing prompt for today:

Thursday, November 10, 2011
What is your secret (or not-so-secret) passion?

Reading. I'm addicted to it.  I could give up music, movies, and even *gasp* chocolate before I could give up reading.

When I was a kid I read all the time. I read in the morning before school, I read on the bus, I read in class when the teacher was boring (yeah, got in trouble for that a lot). I read at lunch and recess, I read on the way home, I read before dinner, I read after dinner (would have read during dinner if Mom had let me). I read before bed, and I read when I was supposed to be asleep (flashlights don't do good things for your eyes). I read at church - it was a running joke that I could walk down the hall from Sunday School to service with my nose in a book while walking around people. I read during service (got in trouble for that one too, till I learned to read my Bible instead of other books).

When I got older I kept reading. I went through library books like crazy. In high school I developed motion sickness when I read on the bus, but that didn't always stop me from reading. Many days I'd arrive at school with an upset stomach from reading on the bus, but it was worth it if I could read a couple more chapters. In college I didn't have as much time to read, but I snuck it in when I could. In my freshman lit class I read all the assignments by the end of the first month. Then I read them over and over in class when I got bored (I got bored in school a lot).

After college I had more time to read. I loved going on vacation with my family. Everyone brought books and we read on the beach, by the pool, in the pool - had to be careful with that one. I loved flying because I could read in the airport and on the plane (no motion sickness there!).

After I had my son reading fell by the wayside. It's hard to read a book with one hand. At night when he went to bed I was too tired to read, and during the day I just didn't have time.

Enter Kindle. I love it! My husband got a Kindle, and I was able to download the free app on my iPhone. It was amazing - I now had a book with me everywhere I went. Waiting at the doctor, holding Tommy, stuck in line at the grocery store, in between patients at work, waiting for the light to turn green (ok, that might have been taking it too far). I had rediscovered reading. I went through a book a day. I started having to look for free books from Amazon so I didn't spend all our money on ebooks. This past summer I got my own Kindle reader, since reading so much on my little iPhone screen started giving me headaches. Not quite as convenient as my phone, but I love that I can sync the devices and read the same book on both of them - so I'm still never without a book!

So, that's my not-so-secret passion. This is probably why I'm so into this blogging project - I'm able to read so many other people's blogs. There's so many good blog writers out there, and I'm really enjoying all the good reading material. So, thanks everyone for enabling my addiction :)