It has never been a well-kept secret that reading has many benefits. Living my entire life as a devourer of many books, I have sadly noticed some problems associated with being a bookworm or bibliophagist as I call myself. Lets begin with some pros of being an avid book lover.
1. You’re never bored.
Lets face it, life can be really boring at times. The mundane tasks are most boring. Sitting in a waiting room at a doctor’s office, riding a bus to your destination…these are the times where bringing a book along remedies the boring fact of waiting. I always bring a book with me when I leave the house, two if I am close to finishing the current one. You can never predict what situation you will end up in, but at least you will always have a book to pass the time.
2. You experience and live in a variety of worlds.
A book is not merely bound pages with words printed in ink. No, a good book brings you to another world entirely, providing an escape from our all too often chaotic lives. Reading brings you on adventures and through all of these adventures, one develops a vivid imagination. Once you have visited a magical book world, you often do not require to read to travel back. Using your imagination, you can travel there whenever you please. I often have fascinating dreams. My mind takes me through various realms and quests that I have read. You not only live one life, but many.
3. You are easy to buy gifts for.
When in doubt, buy that person who loves to read a book…or a gift card to a book shop. It is that simple, us readers love getting new books or having money to spend on them.
4. Expanded vocabulary.
With constant reading and a wide genre of books, we often pick up new vocabulary words. I look up words I am unfamiliar with and make it my purpose to use them in daily life. This means readers always have perfect and unique words to describe everything.
5. You have an endless vault of conversation starters.
Books are filled with more that just fantasy adventures. Many have underlying lessons or controversial issues. Almost every book I have read brings up something that can be used to begin a conversation. Spread your discoveries and joys with others.
6. Reading opens a door to an entirely new world of individuals.
I have met many different people through my years of reading. You have instant bonding with those who read and enjoy the same books as you. Being friends with fellow book lovers saves you the embarrassment when you begin jumping up and down in public about a new book release….I have done it. People looked at me like I was crazy. Not only do you now have an open door to new book loving friends, but authors as well. I have met so many amazing people, readers and writers alike.
7. You have a never-ending to read list.
This holds true for almost every book lover I know. Just as we think our to read list is dwindling, we discover many new books to add to it. Book recommendations are always welcome and given freely, introducing you to books you may have never heard of before.
8. Books are great decor items.
find this decor here
Have you seen some of these beautifully designed bookshelves? They are works of art. People use books as coffee table decor. This means for us readers…we save money. Our books are multi-purpose. They make our homes look well put together and appealing, but also allow us to have books in each room.
Now that I have shared some of the positives that come with being an avid book reader, lets move on to the negatives. Some of these may seem minor, but to fellow bookworms they are terrifying.
1. Book Hangovers.
The dreaded book hangover…many of us know it all too well. A book hangover occurs when you finish a book that was so immersive and enjoyable that you feel as if it is impossible to recover. I recently experienced this. I wanted to continue my journey in that book, but it sadly…had come to an end. When you are face to face with a book hangover, you have three options: reread that book right away, mourn the ending of a beautiful tale, or pick something new up and hope it removes the grey cloud hanging over you.
2. Choosing what to read next.
This is terrifying. You have to hope the book you choose can compete with the other you finished. The next book cannot be any book, it often has to fit your mood. I have three bookshelves that are packed overfull with books, but I find myself with nothing to read. Sometimes those books do not peak my interest. That is why my husband promised when we buy a big house or build our own…he will build my a personal library. I am one lucky bookworm.
3. Organizing your bookshelf.
Personally, I found this one frustrating. I like to organize my books first by the author’s last name, then book or series title. That was easy for me to decide since I have OCD. Others have so many options…organized by title, author, color, genre…endless possibilities. This task also includes reorganizing all your shelves when you get new books. Often, it becomes a long task.
4. No shelf space.
Bookworms love buying and receiving new books. Unfortunately there comes a point in our lives, we see this multiple times, where we run out of shelf space. Some respond with “Just stop buying books.” Are you crazy? Telling a book lover to not buy books is like telling a human to stop breathing. We love to read and need to feed our hunger for new books. So, the only reasonable solution to this dilemma is to buy new bookshelves, or build them. If you are unable to do either of those, simply use other areas to store your treasures.Who really needs walk space in their room.
5. No money.
I personally feel the pain of this one often. It is sad when you walk past a book store and know you can not purchase those tantalizing books. Good news to those readers like myself though, there is an amazing place where they let you borrow books for FREE! Yes, you heard me…free. Go to your local library and borrow a book, or many. That is what they are there for. Libraries are an underutilized treasure.
6. Waiting for a sequel.
You just finished an amazing book that leaves you on a big cliff hanger….what happens next? You have to wait. Wait for the next book to be written and published. You have no idea how long it will be until the book is released. Will you even remember the other book when the sequel is finally available? I suppose you could always reread the book or previous ones in that series before the new one is out.
7. Lack of sufficient sleep.
This is my personal demon. When you are so deep into a book you hate to put it down but it is 12am and you have to be up at 6. You tell yourself that you will only read one more chapter, or in my case read until you end on a page that ends in a complete sentence. I hate ending on a page that does not end in a period. Before you know it, you are laying in bed with a finished book next to you and you have to be up in an hour to begin your day. Yes…you should join book addicts anonymous, you have a problem. Don’t worry though, many of us suffer from this issue.
8. Packing.
Packing for a vacation is difficult because you need to pack all the books you think you will need to hold you over. If you do not read e-books, you will be paying huge luggage fees. On the other hand, packing to move is an entirely different beast. You quickly find you underestimated how many books you actually own. When I packed to move, I had so many totes full of books. When someone lifted it they asked “What do you have in these…a body?” Nope…just books. They looked so confused as to why I had so many, but I know you all understand me.
Well, in the end I still feel that despite the downfalls that come with reading, nothing will ever stop me. Enjoy your books and never let anyone tell you have too many…because that is not possible.