12 Step program for book lovers?- No thanks

I'm glad there isn't a 12 step program for bibliophiles. Can you imagine? Neither can I. Having learned to read at a very young age, it's become such a part of who I am. A colleague & I were discussing Lent the other day, (no, I'm not Catholic), and I told her that if I were I'd have to give up reading for 40 days. I'm not sure I'd survive mentally if I had to do that.

It's how I learn, take trips, discover new ideas, places and people. Through my love of books I've met interesting people, had exciting discussions and heard of new authors. And I've even made new friends, that I've never met, but are still friends to me non the less. From different countries, states and even some in my own backyard.

I find it hard to fathom that not all people have this addiction to the printed word. Words are my toys. I love learning a new word and building on my vocabulary. And I can pass this on to my kids and others as well. And while I can appreciate technology in all it's various forms- call me old-fashioned, but there's nothing like the new book that no one else has opened to read. Pristine, crisp paper and an uncreased cover.... Nirvana.

These are my favorite books. If I were to be lost on an island and this all I had to read, I would be quite content.

Anne Frank
Atonement
Autobiography of a Geisha
Beauty
Beauty's Punishment
Beauty's Release
Bel Canto
Bitter is the New Black
Briar Rose
Bright Lights, Big Ass
Circle of Isis
Dragonwyck
Fingersmith
Forever Amber
Grandmother Moon
I, Elizabeth
Kinky Friedman's Guide to Texas Etiquette
Meridon
Middlesex
Never Let Me Go
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
Snow in August
The Darwin Awards Boxed Set
The Devil's Apocrypha
The Favored Child
The Ghost of Hannah Mendes
The Ghost Writer
The Great Gatsby
The Great Goddesses of Egypt
The Handmaid's Tale
The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette
The Holy Book of Women's Mysteries
The Last Boleyn
The Living Blood
The Mirror
The Mists of Avalon
The Other Boleyn Girl
The Red Tent
The Sacred Marriage
The Shell Seekers
The Six Wives of Henry VIII
The Stand
The Stolen Child
The Thirteenth Tale
The Woman in White
To Kill a Mockingbird
War and Peace
Wideacre
Wild Swans
William Blake
Works of Charles Dickens
Works of Victor Hugo

Favorite Book so far 2007

I read a lot. So far 105 books read this year per Anobii. Out of all of them, the one that has stayed with me is The 13th Tale. It's a book about secrets and I read it straight through. A well known author hires a girl to come and take down her 13th tale. The author has previously written 12 other tales and this is to be her last. What the girl doesn't know for sure is if it's biographical or a fantastical story in the authors mind.

It's a sad story, but it just proves that what you see, isn't always as it seems. If you haven't read this book- try it.

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