A good book has no ending. ~R.D. Cumming

i've been pretty much dreaming about reading good books for fun since before exams. i've had a running list since about january. but between taking a few days to relax and working on write-on, i haven't actually gotten to start reading until yesterday. i started the knitting club book, and i hate to admit it, but i'm not really liking it so far. it's very slow moving. i'm about 6 chapters in, and hoping it picks up the pace a bit. so i went to the library so i would have something to read when i finish this. (i finish a book in about 2-3 days typically).

i usually hate library books. the pages are all brittle and have that musky smell. i also always thought the library was so ackward. quiet. eery almost. plus, i felt like an ass walking around aimlessly, not sure what i was looking for, or where to even start looking. barnes & noble was always so much more appealing. bright and shiney covers. displays. and oooooooh the staff suggestions. and since i worked throughout college and made good money (for a college student) i never had a problem buying books when i wanted to read. now that i think back on how much i spent on hardcovers to add to my 'collection', it kind of makes me nuts. don't get me wrong i know books are an investment. and i love the fact that i have my own little library started for when i have my own house (or hopefully, mcmansion). but it really would have been a better financial move to save the several hundred dollars i've spent on books for now, when i'm not working (or rather, working but not getting paid for it). but anyway, i digress.

this summer, i will be depending on the library and borrowed books from friends and my cousin (cuz we always swapped books anway). and today, i felt oddly comfortable in the library. i didn't feel lost. i browsed the fiction, pulling titles and authors off the shelves. some familiar. some not. the books were still a bit musty, but in an almost appealing way. gave them a little history. i have no idea what brought about this change, a sudden appreciation for the library. maybe its the immense amount of time i've spent in the school library the past few months. (the library i went to today was NOT the school library where i studied all semester. i went to the local library. because, obviously, my school library doesn't have REAL books. just legal books.) or maybe i just have book nostalgia lately. i cleaned out my bedroom yesterday and found a box of books i had packed up from college. there were a few textbooks, but mostly a stack of 20 or so paperback plays, novels, etc from my lit classes. looking back, i've realized that in the past 10 years of high school (thanks to a brilliant but tough advanced english teacher who never missed a class in 4o years and made us read like CRAZY), college, and what i've read for fun, i've read, well, a lot. and a lot of the classics. i joined shelfari today, and i added 45 books to my shelf in about an hour. and those were just my favorites, ones i had in my bedroom to remind me, and others that i remembered off the top of my head. i could probably add another 30 or so if i actually looked through the listings, or think about all of the other stuff i've read in high school and college. the scarlett letter. metamorphosis. crime and punishment. moby dick.

i'm grateful that i've gotten an education that exposed me to so much literature. i didn't appreciate it at the time, and i don't credit it with my love to read, but i'm glad i eventually found my love of books on my own. its kind of hard to explain. in early highschool i complained about reading most of the titles we were required. i didn't see how it was going to help me in life. i didn't read at all for fun until my junior year of high school. then one day it clicked. i read a book suggested by a friend, and spent the rest of the summer reading book after book. looking back i'm so glad i was 'forced' to read all of those classics and the fact that as my tastes have grown, they've led me to other great books. i can't wait to share with you all what i'm reading this summer. maybe you'll find something you like, too.