Book Addict

You know that book? The one that you can't seem to put down, and not in the clichéd definition of that phrase that us book nerds hear far too often, but in an actual: SLEEP or FOOD or BOOK? (the answer is usually book)

I find it so hard to define what it is about a book that has you forgetting that there are such a thing as chapter breaks and starting to think that if you just ignore everyone around you, you can finish before bed. Why are some books gripping? And not even in an intense action scene, what's going to happen way. I actually dislike action scenes. No, it's something else. There's something about fantastic writing that feels so good to read you don't ever want to stop.

There doesn't have to be characters you adore or a mysterious plot. There's just something about reading a compelling book that is so addictive. Maybe it's a skill that one can acquire, writing books that need to be devoured in one piece.* I hope so.

I'm reading Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson. I don't know exactly what to say about it. It's not charming or quirky. There's no breath catching romance going on. I feel really frustrated with the characters for not dealing with what's going on in the way I think I would deal with it. But it's none of that. It's not about that.

It's just good, okay? It's pretentious in the best of ways. It doesn't speak down to its readers, instead crediting them with intelligence and compassion. It's literary fiction for teens and every sentence is as delicious as they come.

Read it. And maybe you'll start to find, like I have, that being addicted to a book isn't such a bad thing. Who ever said it was anyway?

*That kind of made it sound like I constantly rush through reading which is far from the truth. I savour every tiny piece of the books that I admire. Every word, sentence, paragraph and chapter.