My work study job on campus. My favorite hobby besides sleeping. My first ever Facebook profile picture. What do all of these things have in common? They all feature my perfectly normal obsession with books. I mean, of all addictions in all the world books and reading would have to be one of the safest. This is me: a book nerd. The proper term would be a bibliophile (a lover of books and reading). Yes, this is a real thing. No, it is not a deathly addiction. I can stop any time I want to, but the thing is: Why would I want to? That is the question.
If you’ve ever seen the show Gilmore Girls you probably know (know how I’m going to find this sentence) the character Lorelai “Rory” Gilmore, the girl who’s been setting standards for the rest of us fellow bibliophiles from episode One, I can accurately say if I could be any fictional television character, it would be Rory Gilmore. She just understands books and the need to read like no one else does. For heaven’s sake, the girl carries multiple books in her bookbag and still manages to still have some room left over for her school belongings. One of her favorite stores is the bookstore. The library is her second home. That is amazing. She is a relatable character. I , too, find pleasure in spending hours if I could looking at all the books I want to buy but don’t have nearly enough money for. You can ask almost anyone who’s ever seen me, and I can almost guarantee that they see me in the library-whether doing homework or just reading. Did I mention, I work there as well? It’s the perfect setting. Despite this, she has a typical life in her home of Stars Hollow, Connecticut. Her home life and social life doesn’t suffer because of this. In fact, it makes both better by comparison.
Most people think that’s all we do: read, think about books and reading, have Tumblr accounts full of novel related posts. While this is somewhat true, it’s not all we are. We’re nerds dedicated to our passion like people like their video games, television shows, music, etc. We are not ashamed. We’re proud of our label. We unite in discussions on our favorite characters of our favorite books, what we thought succeeded and what failed in the book to film/television adaptations. We become what we read. People like us invest a bit of themselves every time we read a book. We find characters to relate to, cheer for, mourn for, dislike but secretly love. We put so much hope and expectations on what’s going to happen. We can read to escape reality. If the world just seems like too much we can always dive into another one. One that is exactly as we perceive it. It’s all right here.
Don’t make let me lead you on to think that we have extravagant lives just because we’re into books. We still have our problems, struggles, and conflicts. We just found a way to deal with it in way that we enjoy. A quote I read once (no pun intended) said, “I read so I don’t feel quite alone.” I believe the message can’t be truer. Let me also say, that we sometimes don’t limit ourselves to reading. Some of us write as well. My major is creative writing. Writing is also a relief. From stories completely fictional to our own thoughts and emotions, writing is a big contributing factor, as well. So you see? There’s no escaping once you’re heavily involved in the world of words.
