Ahem.

Hello.  My name is Megan, and I'm a book addict.

My mother introduced me to books at age two.  The Firehouse Cat was my first book, and I actually remember reading it.  From there it was easy to see that I would become an addict.  I carried books with me everywhere (still do - I actually picked out my newest purse based on how large it was and if it was big enough to carry a heavy book on top of everything else in there), even to the dinner table and out to restaurants.  I would read before the start of a movie, or while waiting for food to arrive.  I would read while waiting at the doctor's office, or on the school bus.  It definitely irritated my family but what the hey, I was reading, right?  Couldn't be too destructive!

Well, I have been resisting the addiction for some time, although I can't say it's working all too well.  Every year I get at least one gift card to a bookstore for Christmas or my birthday, and I have no problem spending it.  Now that I have a fiance who understands my book-mania, I get actual books!  It's hard to say which is better: opening a gift on Christmas to see a book under the paper, or getting a small square envelope and knowing I'll get to go pick out my own books.  Both are fantastic, especially when all I have to say is "Here's my Amazon wish list...I'll be happy with anything on it!"

For the record, my fiance's name is Chris, and he is not a bibliophile.  He does, however, concede to having a library in the house when we finally buy a house (as long as he gets his game room, which is fine with me).  We have even made plans to build one just like the one in Beauty and the Beast, although that's more a fantasy than a solid idea.  The rolling ladder in the bookstore would be awesome, though.

Last year my goal was to read 50 books.  This goal was not reached...although I did get kind of close.  I blame it on Chris for buying me video games that I could bring to work (he bought me a DS for Christmas 2009, along with a copy of one of the older Final Fantasy games remade for the DS; and later followed the newest Pokemon game.  Last year he bought a PSP and then bought me Final Fantasy: Dissidia.  This cost me a lot of reading time).  Pokemon Black & White just came out and he's been playing...so far I have resisted the temptation.

Books are my friends.  They make me happy when I am sad.  They make me feel and experience things I never would have if I hadn't read them.  They open up new worlds for me to explore.  I stay up late to finish them, I read nonstop when I can, and I spend most of my breaks at work sitting with my feet up, headphones on, book open.

So welcome to my life of books.  To start, tonight I went to Borders to pick up something Chris had ordered and made myself walk in without looking around and then back out.  I did happen to look at some of the shelves, caught myself slowing down and craning my neck to see what was out, and then told myself to keep those feet moving!  I try not to enter a bookstore unless I'm prepared to drop some serious cash (or if I have a gift card to spend - yay for other people's money!).  Tonight I also finished a book I've been reading for about a week, Katharine Kerr's latest, License to Ensorcell, which made me happy and eager at the same time.  I loved the book but now I have to wait months for the next one!  To alleviate the need to read more, I started a new book, The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen.  This book was the result of a gift card purchase, which is to say, it was on a whim.  I tend to be freer with gift card purchases - since it's not my money, I'll buy something I've never heard of before.  This book looks good.  It's about a girl who hides sweets in her closet and meets another girl "who is hounded by books that inexplicably appear when she needs them," as said by the back of the book.  Interesting, yes?