Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always been an avid reader. It went from every Goosebumps book I could get my hands on, to all the trashy V.C Andrews series and horror stories of Stephen King available. Now I have a degree in English Literature, which is basically a degree in reading and discussing books. I love being able to lie in bed with a good book, shut off all the stress of my own life, and disappear into a story. But it’s not always easy — bookworms face plenty of struggles on a daily basis:
- Constantly running out of space to put our books. My book collection has outgrown a few bookshelves, to say the least. I end up having to pile them on top of each other to make more space, and right now, half of my books live at my mom’s house until she decides she can no longer support my addiction.
- Finally caving and getting an e-reader. I’ve always loved holding an actual book in my hands, but when I got a Kobo as a gift, I decided to give it a try. And I love it. I actually read even more now because I don’t have to worry about where I’m going to put the books, not to mention multitasking is a lot easier. I’ve been known to read while I blow dry my hair and while I suffer through a half an hour of boring cardio on the elliptical. I still buy plenty of physical books, but nowhere near as many as I used to.
- The endless to-read list. New books are coming out every day and even if I kept at it 24/7, it would be impossible to get through everything I want to read. As soon as I check one book off the list, there are five more to take its place.
- Always needing a purse big enough to carry a book. My friends used to call me Rory Gilmore because I always had a book with me. The only time I’ll settle for a tiny purse these days is if I’m going to a bar or out dancing. I’m pretty confident I wouldn’t pull a book out on the dance floor. Well, at least it hasn’t happened yet.
- Being interrupted in the middle of a chapter. Or worse, in the middle of a page. I’m constantly asking people hold on a sec while I finish this page.
- Waiting for the next book in the series. If I’m really into a particular series, I’ll get through it way faster than any author could be expected to write. Luckily I have lots of other books to read while I wait for the next book in a series. Doesn’t mean I don’t check obsessively if it’s been surprise released early though.
- Disappointing movie adaptations. Chances are if they’re making it into a movie, I’ve already read the book. Which means I’m going to have certain expectations. There are plenty of really good adaptations, especially lately (if you haven’t seen Room, go now), but there are others that just don’t live up to the book at all (The Lovely Bones being an excellent example).
- Having to choose what book to read next. I usually have some kind of loose hierarchy in my head that determines what I’m going to read next, but sometimes there are too many options and I literally have to close my eyes and pick one out of the pile at random.
- Losing hours reading reviews on Goodreads. I don’t like to waste my time or money on a book that I’m not going to like, so before I buy something I usually check its status on Goodreads. Which always inevitably leads to adding a bunch more books to my ever-growing to-read list.
- Reading multiple books at once. Sometimes I just can’t wait to finish one book before starting another one. I usually have at least one regular novel and one graphic novel on the go at all times. You’d think it would get confusing, but I’m a multi-tasking reader.
- Hearing people say “I don’t read”. I don’t expect everyone to read like I do, but it always makes me sad to hear people say they don’t care about books. I’ll admit if a guy said this on a first date, it would probably be a dealbreaker.
- Being late because I had to finish a chapter. Usually because I lost track of time, or I missed my subway stop because something big was happening and there was no way I’d be able to stop thinking about it if I put the book down now.
- Staying up way too late to finish a book. Usually it seems totally worth it at the time, but I’ll regret it the next day when I have to go to work on only five hours of sleep.
- Deciding which books I should donate. There are books on my shelf I haven’t read, and frankly I’ll probably never read. But admitting that isn’t always easy. I have to get rid of books sometimes, or my apartment will turn into a used book store. Which come to think of it, doesn’t actually sound that bad.
