#43 Rantings of a bookahilic.

I discovered my passion for reading quite late in life. I was almost eighteen by the time I realised I was obsessed with books, and that, compared to most people I know, is pretty late. I see kids, my nephews for example, get engrossed in books the way I do now and I wonder why I wasted a good deal of my childhood doing what I did instead of just plunging into books. I wish someone had helped me find a good book back when I was little and paved the way for me. Don't get me wrong, I've been a reader all my life. I was a regular at my school library where I borrowed and returned books, after reading them of course, at quite an extraordinary pace. But I wasn't obsessed with stories. I didn't read like people breathe; the way I do now. Reading was a hobby, not an obsession; the way it is now.

My parents, though normally they're pretty cool about my obsessive reading habits, do get worked up if they see me concentrating on a novel instead of textbooks. I don't miss a beat before reminding them that, of all the things kids are choosing to get addicted to, they should be proud of me for choosing books. And it really helps. Mostly.

It has come to a point where I can't survive a day without reading at least a few pages. If I don't find a book, I read scraps of newspaper, or literally anything that offers words and stories (I never pick up a textbook during these times, though. It never comes to that.)

Reading is probably the easiest way of enhancing one's vocabulary. And what's more, it's fun to learn like that. So, read. Read like you're born to read. Read like there's no tomorrow. Read, and love reading.