Currently listening to: "Wild Ones" by Flo Rida ft. Sia
Current weather conditions: Drizzle. Fo' Shizzle.
I came across an interesting list of bizarre addictions here. Things such as glass, babies, couch cushions - these were the things I was sort of giddily expecting when I clicked on this (very intriguing) link. However, it has here - right here... Reading. Reading can be a bizarre addiction. What, like doing lines of cocaine? Like selling your children into the grubbiest sector of third world child labor to support your ecstacy habit? Like making up excuses for why you have women's wigs spilling out of your back-bedroom wardrobe? Like telling your friends, every time they invite you out, that you are busy, that you have so little time in the day (nervous laugh), that you really, really need to get some "writing" done?
Is that what they are saying? Really? Huh.
It states: "According to Reading Addiction...A reading addict can harm themselves by spending too much time reading instead of connecting with the real world."
Now, let's all chill out, people. Those bookshelves in my living room groaning under the weight of books I've had since I was a kid, and ones loaned off a friend last week, and all of those in between - those can't be... bad can they? Am I disconnected from reality? Am I actually harmed by them? These rectangular things? That sometimes sound like a hollow tree when thumped, and sometimes make good coasters? Which people like these say about them:
A book is the only place in which you can examine a fragile thought without breaking it, or explore an explosive idea without fear it will go off in your face. It is one of the few havens remaining where a man's mind can get both provocation and privacy. ~Edward P. Morgan
The worth of a book is to be measured by what you can carry away from it. ~James Bryce
Anyone who says they have only one life to live must not know how to read a book. ~Author Unknown
Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers. ~Charles W. Eliot
And then there is this... the addiction to which I am not afraid to admit:
I know every book of mine by its smell, and I have but to put my nose between the pages to be reminded of all sorts of things. ~George Robert Gissing
Chalkboards, honey spilling over the tops of buttermilk biscuits, ancient cigarettes in a sawdusted corner of a basement, the sticky floor of the school bus and its brown plastic seats that stuck to the backs of thighs: these are the memories of the first five books you will find on my middle bookshelf.
Out of touch with reality? If this is what it means to be so, then I guess I am.
Now that we are on a roll, another addiction I have: Writing! Querying! Finding the best deal at charity shops! Chocolate cupcakes! Mayonnaise! Spongebob! Kevin Spacey! Ranch salad dressing! Fuzzy socks!
Now I will leave you to discover and come to terms with your own addictions. Enjoy them deeply.
Happy Thursday, all.
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