I recently ordered a ton of new books. It's hard to read during the school year when you're juggling papers and a pile of required reading books, but since spring break starts in a week and the end of the year is rapidly approaching, I allowed myself I book buying spree on Amazon. Ever since I was a little girl, I enjoyed reading whatever I could get my hands on. I think it's really important for parents to read to their children and teach them the importance of reading. I'm grateful my parents instilled that in me as a child, and always encouraged and purchased me books of any genre.
"Date a girl who reads. Date a girl who spends her money on books instead of clothes. She has problems with closet space because she has too many books. Date a girl who has a list of books she wants to read, who has had a library card since she was twelve.
Find a girl who reads. You’ll know that she does because she will always have an unread book in her bag. She’s the one lovingly looking over the shelves in the bookstore, the one who quietly cries out when she finds the book she wants. You see the weird chick sniffing the pages of an old book in a second hand book shop? That’s the reader. They can never resist smelling the pages, especially when they are yellow.
She’s the girl reading while waiting in that coffee shop down the street. If you take a peek at her mug, the non-dairy creamer is floating on top because she’s kind of engrossed already. Lost in a world of the author’s making. Sit down. She might give you a glare, as most girls who read do not like to be interrupted. Ask her if she likes the book.
Buy her another cup of coffee.
Let her know what you really think of Murakami. See if she got through the first chapter of Fellowship. Understand that if she says she understood James Joyce’s Ulysses she’s just saying that to sound intelligent. Ask her if she loves Alice or she would like to be Alice.
It’s easy to date a girl who reads. Give her books for her birthday, for Christmas and for anniversaries. Give her the gift of words, in poetry, in song. Give her Neruda, Pound, Sexton, Cummings. Let her know that you understand that words are love. Understand that she knows the difference between books and reality but by God, she’s going to try to make her life a little like her favorite book. It will never be your fault if she does.
She has to give it a shot somehow.
Lie to her. If she understands syntax, she will understand your need to lie. Behind words are other things: motivation, value, nuance, dialogue. It will not be the end of the world.
Fail her. Because a girl who reads knows that failure always leads up to the climax. Because girls who understand that all things will come to end. That you can always write a sequel. That you can begin again and again and still be the hero. That life is meant to have a villain or two.
Why be frightened of everything that you are not? Girls who read understand that people, like characters, develop. Except in the Twilight series.
If you find a girl who reads, keep her close. When you find her up at 2 AM clutching a book to her chest and weeping, make her a cup of tea and hold her. You may lose her for a couple of hours but she will always come back to you. She’ll talk as if the characters in the book are real, because for a while, they always are.
You will propose on a hot air balloon. Or during a rock concert. Or very casually next time she’s sick. Over Skype.
You will smile so hard you will wonder why your heart hasn’t burst and bled out all over your chest yet. You will write the story of your lives, have kids with strange names and even stranger tastes. She will introduce your children to the Cat in the Hat and Aslan, maybe in the same day. You will walk the winters of your old age together and she will recite Keats under her breath while you shake the snow off your boots.
Date a girl who reads because you deserve it. You deserve a girl who can give you the most colorful life imaginable. If you can only give her monotony, and stale hours and half-baked proposals, then you’re better off alone. If you want the world and the worlds beyond it, date a girl who reads.
Or better yet, date a girl who writes."
— Rosemary Urquico
This is incredible and is so true. I think if you may either love to read or hate it. If you love it, you know what I'm talking about. My closet is overfilling with books. Books I can't bear to part with because they all tell a story about a part of my life. Like the time I stayed up all weekend, sleeping only a few hours, to read Gone with the Wind. Or my fascination with biographies and nonfiction. I could go to a bookstore or library and spend hours. Hours just looking at my options. I always leave the bookstore clutching my shopping bag to my chest, like a prized possession.
I want to start incorporating more book reviews, reading round ups, and "on my book shelf" type posts on the blog.
Here are the books I recently purchased:
1. I've heard amazing things about The Paris Wife, and I've been dying to try it. People have compared it to Loving Frank, and I loved that book! {I'll do a book recommendation post sometime soon}
2. I've always been in love with reading books about World War II and the Holocaust. Call me morbid, but even when I was 11 and 12 I would read everything I could get my hands on about this subject. While it's incredibly sad, it's very interesting to me about the dynamics and psychological affects of the time period.
3. As I said before, I love biographies, and I think the store of Chanel is such an incredibly interesting one. I'm excited to give this a whirl.
4. I love Jodi Picoult because she is a captivating author and I can usually get through her books quickly because they interest me so much! She picks interesting, sometimes controversial, subjects. This one is about a boy with Asperger's Syndrome, and since I just finished my paper on this subject, I was drawn to it.
5. I love hearing about how yoga has changed people's lives. As a yoga teacher, I find the whole transformation process inspiring.
6. I think this could be a fun read, and some are comparing it to Eat, Pray, Love. I loved that book, so I'm hoping this has a similar appeal.
I'm currently reading....
I picked this up on a whim a while ago, and finally found time to read it. It's about two Americans, a doctor and his photographer wife, who move to Kenya so he can complete medical training. They climb Mount Kenya with their friends, and tragedy occurs, changing the course of their time in Kenya. I'm half way through, and so far so good. I'll let you know how it is!
What are your favorite books? Do you enjoy reading? I'd love to find new favorites!
These are all coming with my to florida! Yes, i am the girl that packs half her suitcase with thick books.
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Thanks for all your input on the yoga post! I've decided that every Monday will be yoga Monday. I'll offer a pose of the week as well as some insight into teaching, being a student, and my personal yoga life!
I'm excited :)
xo
* all pictures google images
I just finished House Rules, a fast read, very intense!
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