I don’t need sleep, I have books

Listening to: Shakira - Shakira

Mood: Cheerful

I love books. Shocker, I know. But seriously, I’ve been a voracious reader my entire life. When I was a kid, I used to hide under my covers with a flashlight when I should have been sleeping so I could stay up and read books by Christopher Pike, RL Stine, Stephen King, and Anne Rice. I preferred books to other kids when I was a tiny human too, and I can’t say that’s changed much as an adult. But the point here is that I truly believe that my love of reading books is also what led to a desire to write them at that same young age.

I’m of the mindset that one cannot be a good writer if you’re not a good reader. How do you craft a great story if you don’t know how a great story reads? What makes a book grab and hold your attention? What makes you like, or LOVE, a character? What makes you laugh, cry, scream, hell, even throw a book across the room?

Books, like any art form, are completely and utterly subjective. What I think is the best story of all time EVER, someone else might think is not so good. I mean, go look at any of the reviews for your favorite books on Goodreads or Amazon (or wherever), and see what people who give them one or two stars say. And you’ll probably scoff and shake your head and think “are they crazy?”. I mean how could someone think that about a book that you love so dearly? But it happens. It’s the nature of the art.

Some people won’t even finish a book if they don’t like it within the first couple chapters. I’ve never given up and not finished a book. Even if it was dragging. Even if I got bored or just couldn’t connect with the character. I think that’s really rare for readers and I’m a little abnormal on this front, but I really respect the work authors put into their novels so I make myself finish. If that means taking a break, reading another book, and coming back to the book, I ALWAYS finish.

Basically I love reading. I love writing. I think as a writer, both go hand in hand. For me, anyway.

And just for fun I took this Buzzfeed quiz a few days ago called “How much of a book addict are you?” Some of the questions are so funny, but so true, if you really love books as much as I do. It told me I had an “extreme reading problem.” Thanks Buzzfeed, I’ll take that as a compliment. So, are you addicted to books? Would love to hear what the quiz says about you! http://www.buzzfeed.com/isaacfitzgerald/give-me-all-the-books-and-nobody-gets-hurt