I'm back on again...and loving it!

The first time it happened was right before I graduated college. I had heard about an author, Nicholas Sparks, on Oprah or something like that, and a book called The Notebook. It'd been out for a few years, but was really gaining widespread renown, so I went out and bought it. I read it in a few short hours, and then I was hooked. Hooked on reading....for pleasure.

I remember my Mom telling me that I was never able to comprehend....even when I was little. I was always better at numbers....even though I could only count to 29 when tested during kindergarten. That didn't change much, as I never really enjoyed reading my text books in school. In high school I'd be the one reading the English assignment during lunch or in the hallway right before getting into class. In college, I got excited to get my books for the semester, but got more learning out of going to class and taking notes than I ever did from reading the materials. This didn't come out well for me when the test questions were from the books. Oops!

But, there is definitely something different about reading when it's on your own merit, pace, and purpose. It was like I'd discovered something that I never knew before, and went out to read as many books as I could. I turned to Oprah, and read a lot of the ones she suggested back then....Where the Heart Is, The Reader, House of Sand and Fog, and many more.

I've fallen in and out of the pattern a few times in the last 10 years or so. When I get on kicks, I really do, and read for days on end....just devouring books. I've done that recently, and even though it might take an entire day away....it feels good to revel in someone else's story for a little while.

I read Eat, Pray, Love in October of 2007, and that had been the last book I'd read in a really long time. It took me about 6 months to read The Perfect Match, and then about a month ago, I started reading again. I read The Shack pretty quickly, Redeeming Love in about 4 days, and then just this week, The Atonement Child in a day and a half.

Here are a few authors that I just can't get enough of.....Nicholas Sparks, Jodi Piccoult, Joshilyn Jackson, Meg Cabot, Ceclia Ahern, Francine Rivers....and I know that there are a lot more out there. I once had a pictorial view of all the books I'd read. It was pretty nerdy, but maybe I need to find it. I thought it was fun. :)

Well...needless to say, I'm on that kick again. I went back to the bookstore today, and I couldn't help but walk out with 3 books. And....the saddest part about it, is that I caved. I did it. I bought the Twilight book. I think that about 80% of my girlfriends are talking about how much they LOVE these books...and so, after watching the movie last night (which was a LOT better than I was expecting. Not great, per se, but not horrible), I was a little intrigued. So...I did it. And now I'm going to read.