Anyone who knows me is aware that I have always had a love of reading. However, not many know how much reading actually means to me. I call myself the Bibliophagist, meaning the devourer of books.
To me, books are more than mere printed words on bound pages. They are a place where I can experience new realms and adventures, even make new friends.
These majestic treasures are a way for me to live and learn from mistakes that I have not made. I have avoided many mistakes by learning from them within magical pages. To me, books have been an escape when I need it and friends who never let me down. Every time something bad occurs in my life, I always have books to turn to.
Growing up with my father was a roller coaster. He fed my love of reading, every Christmas at least two of my gifts were books. What he did not know, was that he aided in my escape from him. Living with my dad, I was always on edge. He was physically and verbally abusive to me and my younger sister. I never knew when he would snap. Something as simple as having to rerun the dryer because clothes were wrinkled or not having all the dishes washed and put away would set him off. If I let my hair sit wet rather than blow dry it, I was told I looked like a rag doll with a mop for hair. I was criticized if I asked for seconds at dinner, told that he now knows why I was bullied at school…because I was fat. I weighed no more than 130lbs in high school…I was not fat by any definition of the word. When I needed a place to go…you got it…I used books. I would read pages as if they were oxygen and I was suffocating. I read anything I could get my hands on. I bet you can’t guess my favorite place to be growing up…? Ok, that was an easy one. The Library!
When my dad passed away during the beginning of my senior year of high school I dove deeper into these little gems. My friends always knew to find me in the library when I had study periods. I even got into trouble in class. I was not the one holding a cell phone under the table…nope. I got into trouble because during math I tried to put a book on my lap and read. I was that kid…I am unsure how I thought I would get away with it. In my year book, people even wrote that they knew me as the girl who was always reading.
I go on adventures to other worlds and fight demons, fallen in love more times than I can count, made friends and lose them within the same chapter…I have lived. I have lived not one life, but many. Filled with love, loss, fear, anger, excitement, and wonder. A good book will take me into the story, make me experience it rather than mindlessly read the words. Stephen King has always been one of my favorite authors because he could show me that despite how bad the world looked from my eyes, it could always be darker from another person’s point of view.
Life always went on, but the roadblocks and problems did not cease. Whenever I need an escape, I reach for a book. I am lucky to be married to someone who understands my love for reading. I do not read or blog because I want to become popular or have a high number of followers. I read and blog because I know how important books have been to me since childhood. Maybe…just maybe, I will post a review of a book that someone reads and is able to experience what I do. Despite the hectic world we live in, books will always give you a place to visit and learn from.
What have books meant to you? Do you read simply for entertainment or is there something more that books have given you? Let me know in the comments below.