books

Reading is the cognitive process of decoding and interpreting written, printed, or tactile symbols (such as Braille) to construct meaning.

Books mean a lot to me. Some of my favorite moments are of smelling old books. My parents took turns driving on our many road trips. Most of the time, we stayed off the highways and drove through roads and small towns because my dad peddled to earn money. At the same time, we got to experience antique stores, not the kind you all know today, but the many awesome ones in the 1970s and 1980s. My parents always let me buy old books, novels, comics, or whatever I wanted, since those road trips were often long, and reading made the trips go faster.

My dad loved to go to small places that sold books, magazines, and comics, and he took me almost every day. We all got candy for dessert, plus one book, magazine, or comic. He never said no. That is my best memory of my dad from those moments. He was always happy when he was in those stores.

I am literally a bookworm. I read for imagination and to understand the unwritten rules of society. I learned a lot about etiquette from Dear Abby columns, and I also love reading history. I really eat books like a hungry caterpillar, thirsty for knowledge and curious about how authors choose their words and how to interpret each sentence. I read beyond the words, looking for metaphors, different meanings, and everything in between. I just love books. I read every genre, from baby books to textbooks. I have read many classics, but true crime is probably my favorite. Sci-fi is not my thing, though I will happily read it if the author is good. I am never without a book, in many formats: a physical book or my Kindle.

The library was the most important world to me. I spent hours and hours there, from opening to closing, almost every day if I could get away with it. The librarians knew my name while I was growing up, and they would bring me different books they thought I might like to try. They taught me how to use the physical card catalog, stored in large wooden cabinets filled with index cards, and the Dewey Decimal System (DDC). When Borders and Barnes & Noble first opened, I was in awe of all the new books, because the library mostly carried lder ones back then. But I never stopped going to the library. I still visit libraries all over America, and I also still enjoy Barnes & Noble and small local bookstores. I carry library memberships in various places here in the DMV and in other states. I also love the Libby app, where I can search which library has an ebook to borrow, because every library has different ebooks available.

I passed my love of being a bookworm on to our sweet son. He is also never without a book, in any format, anywhere.

Books I love, books I'm reading, and books still waiting on my shelf. I'll rate each one and share what I thought.

More book reviews coming soon...