I have a problem. It’s something that’s been an issue
throughout my whole life and I can’t seem to stop. It’s cost me thousands of
dollars, untold hours, and at times, left me isolated and alone.
I’m speaking, of course, about reading.
More specifically, about reading too fast.
You see, I read really fast. I’m not being immodest, it’s
just what it is. It’s been a handy trait at many points in my life, especially
college, but it’s also been kind of a pain in the butt. I buy a book, go home,
and then start reading. Four or five hours later, I’m done. Books just don’t
last for me and it’s kind of irritating.
Just last Friday I got a box of two books I ordered online
and about four hours later, I’d finished the first one and was reaching for the
second. I stopped myself and now the unread book sits by my chair, taunting me.
Yet I know, if I pick it up, I’ll just read through the whole thing and then be
sans books yet again.
When I was a kid, I used to buy two and three books a week.
I had a part-time job and no expenses, so I could buy books. There was an
independent bookstore near my work (Books & Books) so I would often browse
through it before/after work. The owner had a reputation among my friends for
being mean, but he loved me and once gave me a slightly damaged bikini
calendar. Of course, I was buying probably
forty-bucks worth of merchandise a month.
In college, my dorm-mate read at a glacial pace. He spent an
entire semester reading a Star Trek novel, while I went through a couple a
week. Being an English major, it wasn’t bad, as I always had something to read
for class. Now, I kind of envy Vince. He got like three-months enjoyment out of
one book.
Yes, libraries do exist, but I have a thing about keeping
books. It’s not the smartest choice I could make, the fourteen-odd boxes of
books in storage testament to that, but it’s what I do. Kindle/Nooks/Tablets
are also an option, but I don’t really like reading on those. A book is a
physical presence with a feel and a heft and a smell. Tablets are just kind of
sterile, I guess.
Now, if they could make a tablet that smelled like a book, I’d
be all over it. Which begs the question: could you get ‘book-smell’ air
fresheners for your car? Or book-smell deodorant? These are things I would buy.
Cheers,
-Jason
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