my great escape...

i have always loved to read...as a little girl...i was definately a book worm...well into my adult life...reading was considered a force in my existance...i've found its importance in my life continues to grow...i think the more troubled my world...the greater the interest i have in escaping to a place provided by my current book...it is a wonderful distraction...

for me it all begins at nite...when i am securely in my bed...all noise gone...all lights off, except the reading lamp on my night table...i take my book in hand and start my transition from my reality to that of my book...the only thing that can disturb this alluring scene is...reading material in hand...i sometimes fall to crisis when i realize that within a matter of days...anything under a week...i will finish my book...

i have been known to read a book in its entirety in one day...being involved in two separate book clubs...this has at times come in very handy...when life got in the way...and i thought i had time to read the appointed book..only to realize the nite before...i need to be able to discuss this and i haven't started...i don't go into panic mode...i just shut the world away outside...and get comfy...and start reading...

i have a friend who panics when they see that the gas gauge shows less than a quarter tank...until they see that arrow point to full...they drive in a semi-panic mode...i guess in a way...that is how i feel when i see that my book is in the last quarter...and that i have no follow-up material lined up...i begin the panic of knowing that i need (i should say MUST) find my next literary pursuit...

as the nites count down...my level of panic and trepidation increase accordingly...the great calamity would be to finish the current book before the next one is acquired...although i have not been there...it must be a bit like being addicted to, say, heroin, and not knowing where your next fix will come from..

again in the analogy of the drug user...just like the heroin addict is not interested in marijuana or LSD, i can't just pick up any book...no, i am, well, addicted to pretty much a few genres...i must search my trusted sources for one more title that will suffice me for a couple of weeks, more like one week...and then the process repeats itself...

for the unacquainted, my love of reading started at a very young age...i found that i loved its adventure, the traveling to new frontiers, the danger and excitement of the journey, and the reality of it all...every once in a while...throw in some romance...these stories grab my imagination and pull my mind from the problems of the day...

reading takes you to places you may have never ventured to see...i want to be immersed in the reality of someone else's reality...i want to go on the journey with them...whether they are sailing around the world single-handedly or rebuilding a stone home in tuscany...i want to experience their highs and lows...their enjoyments and discomforts....their path from beginning to end...i want to dream with them...

some books, of course...simply are good and readable but do not seize my mind...i am not afraid to quit reading a book...this is essential if you want to love reading...there's nothing worse than plodding along in a book you are not enjoying...for heaven's sake...put it down and get another...when you are able to do this...you know you have matured as a reader...

so, anyway...once i get down to that last quarter-tank (in a book...that is) i know i must begin the process of finding new fuel...i may start at borders, followed by barnes & noble, followed by amazon...sometimes i will hunt through the local library...and sometimes...books are recommended by friends...the book club book's are assigned...because of book club...i can say i have read books i would normally never have picked up...but i did...and enjoyed them...and expanded my list of genre & authors...

reading...my great escape...it will take you away to places most of us can only dream about...and it will allow you to forget about the troubles...big and small...that consume your life...