"You Know You're in Book Love When ... "

My Twitter pals recently surprised and delighted me when I posted this question: “You know you’re in book love when ... ” Here are some of the responses:

“you want to read aloud to whoever will listen!”–twitter.com/hchybinski

“…you recommend it to everyone even strangers.”–Sara Anderson @DIYSara

“…you stay up all night to finish in one sitting with no concern about how hard it will be to get through work the next day.”–Ridge Walker @ridgewalker

“…you read your friend's birthday present b4 he gets it.”–@rufalena

…you think the only thing better than going to sleep with a good book…is with a man who's just read one.”–Molly Block @mollyblock

Now I’d like to cast this book-love net wider, to readers of this Well-Read Life blog, and offer Levenger prizes for the most captivating completions to that sentence.

Book love defined

Just to make sure we're all on the same page, I describe book love as that feeling you get when you can’t wait to get back to your book. As I describe in my Little Guide, book love is a lot like romantic love. It’s a feeling, while you’re going about your workaday duties, of being beckoned by your book so the two of you can be together again. That’s a very good feeling.

You’ve been in book love before, or else you wouldn’t be reading this. But are you in book love at this very moment?

Be honest now—how frequently are you reading a book you can’t wait to get back to?

If you answer "all the time" my hat’s off to you, and I ask you to please pass on some of your techniques to readers here. If you answer is "not as often as I'd like" then perhaps you can learn with the rest of us how to get more captivating books in our lives.

I’d always like to be in book love because, for me, it means I’m learning. Whether I’m reading fiction, history, biography, science or whatever, I want to be drinking from that fountain of learning for the rest of my days. For me, learning is the ultimate luxury.

So in this spirit, I ask you, dear reader, to complete the sentence.  

“You know you’re in book love when…”

Fair warning: we may use your answer for various shameless-commerce purposes at Levenger. Give us your full name so we can credit you (with honor, not money).

Ready to fall in love again? I’d love to get your comments.

 

Follow Steve Leveen on Twitter: www.twitter.com/SteveLeveen

Comments

[Sunnymay]

Serious book love is when you prefer not to disturb anyone and read by one of those little flashlights you hook onto the book. As a kid, I read by flashlight, because lights out only meant the big overhead one.

[chaotic mess]

You know your in book love when... you spend five hours driving from store to store just to find another copy after you discover your two year old has ripped out the most crucial pages and then scribbled on them in black crayon!

You know your in book love when... you get so caught up in your reading, only to discover you were supposed to be at work an hour ago.

You know your in book love when... you haven't heard a single word you're boyfriend has said for the past 10 minutes because your so involved in the text that you've actually managed to tune out the real world.

[hp blogger Steve Leveen]

Funny and moving and so right on--that's what I think of your delightful comments. "Not even Ballon Boy can tear you away..." Marvelous. My wish is that all of you stay in book love, one book after another. That is a well-read life.

[boku]

You know you're in book love when... You compare your book to pretty much everything(other books, movies, tv shows, even music) whether it's related to the book or not. Everything reminds you of your book.
Oh and another one, you refer to the book as "my book" when it's really from the library/lent to you by a friend/family.

[bookwit]

You know you're in book love when...you rush to get onto the airplane and settle into your seat so you can spend several hours of (almost) uninterrupted time reading your book. You also look around to see what books other passengers are reading.

[jennaskwarek]

You know you're in book love when...not even Balloon Boy could tear you away.

[MelissaHogarty]

You know you're in book love when . . . you find a way to work the phrase "you know, that's like something I just read in this great book . . . " into every conversation, no matter how tenuous the connection. Book on the brain much?

[smerkinb]

You carry your book with you everywhere and find impatience replaced with excitement. Every spare moment means another sentence or paragraph you can read. Stuck in stand still traffic--couple paragraphs. Long wait at the pharmacy--good that's 6 pages worth of reading time.

Your book is like a passport to not just the tangible world, but the intangible world of philosophy, history and the thoughts of great people past and present.

BrennLambert

[Sarijj]

Wow great post Brenn! I was going to say something similar to what you said in your opening paragraph. Your second paragraph is wonderful!

You know you are in love with a book when it takes over your life. Cooking for your family becomes a chore as it takes you away from your love. Waiting in line or waiting in a doctors office is a thrill as it gives you time to spend devoted to your book.
When you finish the book it feels like the death of a close friend or leaves you breathless as it opened your mind to new thoughts and emotions.

Oh the love affairs I have had...with books. Sigh..