I’m a girl in search of a good book. It’s true. Sometimes I hate what’s popular and sometimes I want to jump on the bandwagon and wave from the back like everyone else. People who are snobs about what they’re reading (and by proxy what *I* am reading) frustrate me to no end. However, we can still be friends in real life.

I didn’t come here to argue the finer points and merits of books. Go over to the gazillion other blogs for that. I’ve finished my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, so I don’t want to write critiques or analyses of what I’m reading. I just want to tell people about books and the people who write them. It’s a simple goal.

I love authors. If you put yourself out there in publishing these days you are a stronger person than most. Why?  It’s BRUTAL out there, people. People feel compelled to outdo each other in terms of being petty, angry, or just plain mean. People plagiarize your work and tear you to bits when you open your Inbox. I haven’t got time for it and don’t need to read about it. I like to tell authors when I like what they’re doing because these are the people who keep my Kindle full. Because it matters to me that it keep mattering to them.

I love books. I’m an outspoken introvert. Books have never hurt my feelings, excluded me, or stolen my boyfriend. When the chicklets were younger (they’re 11 and 5 now), I stopped reading for a while. I managed to fall in love with Harry Potter during the gap between my older child leaving toddlerhood and giving birth to my younger child. As many of us figure out, attempting to read a book around a baby is bullshit. You never get to read your book and it was just more stuff to drag around. As my younger one became more independent, my reading world came back to life.

…and then THE TRILOGY happened. Yep…that one. With the billionaire and the virgin and the Red Room of Pain. I liked them and I’m not apologetic about it. Then I discovered MANY other people, like myself, who were looking to read again and it snowballed from there. Last year I read 100+ books in various genres. We got rid of our DVR because it was mocking me with its full roster of shows that couldn’t hold a candle to what I was reading. I contemplated getting rid of cable, but came to my senses for two reasons. One, we have children and I need them to have cable so I can read. Two, I could never give up HBO. TV, yes, but never, ever, HBO. So, I often find myself thinking, “This book would make a fantastic HBO series…True Blood IS getting a little stale”. It’s a sickness.

I think Kindles (and their apps) are the best inventions of the 21st century. I used to have to carry a book around. Not to do so was unthinkable. Now I can read on my iPhone, my iPad, my computer, and my actual beloved Kindle Paperwhite. I’m probably one more 1-Click away from an intervention or an audition for “Hoarders, e-reader Edition”. I don’t care. It’s cheaper than therapy and anti-depressants (not that there’s anything wrong with those things) to just keep buying and reading. With the advent of ARCs and galleys, which I have access to due to my “professional reader” status, I sometimes get books for free and ahead of their publishing date. Ironically, I love my Kindle to be full of beautiful covers, so sometimes I go ahead and buy the book when it comes out anyway. That, and it lowers the price of the audiobook often to practically nothing. Yes, that’s right. If I can’t physically read books I need to listen to them. My house would never get cleaned, winter accessories would never be knit,  and car trips would never get taken without audiobooks.

With the invention of Prime, Amazon officially owns me and my family. Don’t worry…we’re happily indentured. Free two-day shipping and free streaming videos of Downton Abbey will do that to a girl.

So, this is the start. Welcome to my world.