Many people would call me a monster. I remember sitting in my high school English class, book open, eyes on the clock, anxiously counting down the seconds. When the bell rang, I dog-eared my page, slammed my book shut and shoved it in my backpack. As I got up to leave, I noticed the kid next to me shoot me a horrified glance. "Did you just..." he whispered. He couldn't even say it. "You just bent the page of your book. You're a monster." That was the first time.

Many since have called me a monster for my barbaric book reading habits. Others have expressed their distaste that I, such an avid reader and lover of literature, would ever dare to write in my books. "Books are sacred. They are not to be violated in such savage mannerisms as writing in them and bending their beloved pages." Some have even told me that I couldn't possibly be a true bookworm if I engaged in such practices.

Not only do I not understand the thought process behind these types of remarks, I find them extremely comical. I will literally laugh in your face if you tell me I am not a true book lover because I "destroy" my books. I will not laugh at you out of spite or to be rude -- I will laugh at you because I honestly find it hilarious. To anyone who holds these types of opinions, this is something I feel very strongly that you should know.

You are right, books are sacred- but they are not meant to be put on such a high pedestal. Do you honestly think that the author would rather someone try to preserve every page- every word- than have their reader interact with the text? Do you think that the author wrote the book to have their readers worship it, or to spark conversations about real world issues that are expressed through the book's themes? Look back on any English class you have ever taken and tell me why your teacher had you underline/highlight key points and write down questions you had about the text.

When you read something, you read it through the lens of your own experiences. I write in the margins because the insight I am gaining is likely different than the next person's, and the text becomes personal- it becomes mine. When I pick up one of my books twenty years from now, I hope it is marked up with so many notes and highlights that it is hard to read. I hope that the pages are not still perfectly crisp- I hope they are bent and crinkled. This is what books were meant for. They were meant to be read and engaged with and loved. Trying to keep a book pristine is like giving a child a new doll but telling them they have to play with it still in the package. You are completely defeating its true purpose.

You may keep calling me a monster if you'd like. I do not and will never apologize for destroying my books.