Confirmed Book Addict

In addition to all our little forays away from home this weekend, we made it to the town's craft market - along with just about everyone else who lives here...!

There are many wonderful goodies on sale. Hand(mouth?)-blown glass, beaded African decorations, clothing (some tie-dyed and painted with dragons and fairies), home-made foodthings (the German ice-cream was divine!), wooden furniture - and BOOKS. Lots and lots of very cheap 2nd-hand books.

Which is where I made a bee-line for.

You see, I'm kinda addicted to Reader's Digest Condensed books. Above the TV, on all the lounge shelves, 120 volumes add their gold-embossed spines to my lounge decor. I read them in the bath - my "me" time every night, which often stretches to two hours of running out the cold water and running in more hot as I simply can't put the story down. I read them while the washing's doing its thing, out in the sun on a Sunday morning. I read them in TV ad breaks (especially if it's a gripping tale). I read them to my son at bedtime and while he plays with his toys.

And that's precisely why I was looking for those. Because I've done so much reading that I've read all of them at least twice. I'm cursed with a good memory, and can remember every single jolly one - so re-reading has to take place ages apart in order to engross me.

Well, we found a PILE of the things, many of which I already have. But 35 of which I didn't. And at one buck each, they were most certainly affordable! I borrowed a crate, loaded up my booty and stuck it in the car before we perused the rest of the market.

When I got home it was a question of "where the heck are we going to put these?"! They ended up piled nearly to the roof on the shelf above the TV, on top of the rows of already-owned books (pictorial evidence may be supplied on request). But it's starting to look a bit dangerous up there, as if it's going to topple over and kill someone...

So one of these days I'm going to have to get those bookshelves built. Lots of them.

I've always wanted a room just for books, a library full of precious words all my own. You know the type - walls lined to the roof with books, a big fireplace on one end, a couple of comfy chairs, a bay window for curling up in sunshine...

If I don't stop buying these things, I'm going end up with JUST THAT! And no room for the Official Occupants of our little dwelling to dwell.

Too bad. Books are worth it.