Reading can be an addiction!

I love to read. I can read newspapers, fiction, non-fiction, and even the back of an envelope or a shopping bag.

If my eyes spy a written word, my mind must register an image... I must read. I am truly a voracious reader. I have a book by my bed ( infact, if I really count- let me see- three magazines and two books, one more under my pillow, one in my office bag, one in the car ( for the red light spots!) and atleast two in the loo! I would be typically reading five books at any given time- and following all five very well. They would all be different categories or genres. And this does not include the reading I do for the children.

Can this be called an addiction? I cannot say. An addiction is an activity that is followed habitually and cessation of which causes severe trauma. I have no reason to think I have suffered any trauma when I have not had reading material. I tend to find it even in the menu card of Hotels. May be that is what I should do next. Collect unusual Menu Cards! the menu card of Ambassador coffee shop is one such- awesome! It had so much to read that the meal just flashed past me.

It is said that a house without a book is a house without a soul. Then, my house is a HOME with not one or two but many souls! Each room, including my kitchen and my bathroom have many souls! This can range from serious Objectivist philosophy of Ayn Rand ( BTW- I agree with her a hundred percent in Atlas Shrugged) or diehard Romanticism of Nicholas sparx. It could be the Five love languages of Dr Chapman or The Pengiun book of History of India. I have the Idiot's Guide to Hinduism as well as the basis of Islam. I have on my reading list the Egypt Code telling about the probable reason for the pyramids and the signed copies of her own books as gifts from a very dear friend (whom incidently I have not even met! and with whom I share my love of THE word.

Is this affecting my life in any way? Sure!!!

It makes me more relaxed at a red signal. I am not in a hurry, impatiently waiting for the signal to turn green so I can race to the next red light and start counting down to a green again. It is sometimes disappointing to have the signals all green- giving me no opportunity to read on the go!

I somehow have the feeling that there is so much to do and so little time to do it in! To see the world. To savour others' achievements. To feel complete with or without company. Books can never let me feel alone! They are easy to carry. They are never asleep. They are never busy. I can pick one up when I want to. They are not demanding. I might not pick one up for ages- yet when I do, and even if I don't, the book stays the same. They talk to each reader differently. It is up to the reader to talk to the book.

There are many people who read passively. Some people read actively. What a book says to me will be quite different from what it may say to my husband or my daughter. And an active reader will talk more and be talked more to, while reading a book.

Which is the last book I read? The six sacred stones by Matthew Reiley... absolutely stunning! It was a classical unputdownable. Fast paced and imaginative from the word go! I am waiting eagerly for the sequel... it was promised by the end of March!!! I have already bought the Seven Deadly wonders- the book that predates the six sacred...

A book that has had immense impact on me? Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. I am not joking when I say that I read that book twenty nine times! I did. Fresh into College, I identified with the idealism and the treatment meted out to the Idealists in the book. Twenty nine times is how many times I read the book ENTIRELY... In parts, I read it many more uncountable number of times. Somehow, the other bestseller by her- Fountainhead that most people who read her like more... I did not like as much! I could not bring myself to justify destroying what you love so no one else can have it!

I have read lots by otherwise unknown authors and some by one book wonders. The Celestine Prophecy is by far the best book in the entire series by James Redfield. None of the books that follow do the first one justice. Similarly the depth and the innocence of Alchemist is unbeaten by any of his other titles. But these are my views... I am not judging any of these greats... only recollecting what each of these great books had to say to me. And how!

I could go on endlessly about my love for books... and reading...

I simply cannot resist a good read. With breakfast. In the coffee-house. In the bed.

If there is one habit I would love my children to acquire from me- it is the love of reading.

From all those who happen to read through to the end of these ramblings of a reader who has 'taken some time off to write' (!), I would love to hear what you are reading at the moment! Do you like it? What is the book saying to you?

I am reading ( among other books at the moment) Nadine Laman's Kathryn's Beach... a gentle, curl up in bed kind of read!

Hoping to hear from some of you!

Signing off for now!