Mondays are my favorite time of the week….yet once upon a time, I dubbed them Blue Mondays. That moniker came as a result of that stressful career I had for thirty years…and it was only after I moved BEYOND it, that I could celebrate Mondays. And now I read and blog to chase away the blues.
Today I’m celebrating Mondays by musing with Jen, at A Daily Rhythm, her revamped blog site. Check it out!
Here are some topics:
- I’m currently reading…
- Up next I think I’ll read…
- I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
- I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
- I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
- I can’t wait to get a copy of…
- I wish I could read ___, but…
- I blogged about ____ this past week…
THIS WEEK’S RANDOM QUESTION: How old were you when you realized that you are an AVID reader?
***
I love that random question….I guess I knew almost as soon as I could actually read that books were my great love. It started as I curled up next to my brother, three years older, and gradually taught myself to read before I even began school.
And then, at age eight, I got a library card in this tiny library that was housed as one-half of the village post office. But I was in heaven! Loved browsing the shelves and checking out books. It was a treat to go at least once a week…and by the time I was old enough to read more, there was another, bigger library in a town ten miles away.
I was in love with books, the characters, and where their stories took me. And I especially loved the places where I found books.
I don’t go to libraries as often as I once did. Nowadays, I visit Amazon and download books, or go to the Barnes & Noble store around the corner. I often go there with a book or my Kindle (Pippa, nowadays!). And read while sipping coffee. And sometimes I buy a bargain book. Let’s face it, I am addicted!
But I am trying to restrict or curtail my book buying…especially since I have been purging lately. Here’s what I cleared out this past week…I emptied these two bookshelves!
Big Brothers/Big Sisters is sending someone over to pick up the boxes of books I am donating!
***
Has your avid reading led to overstuffed shelves and a need to purge?
***
RAINY DAYS AND MONDAYS 
Oh wow! Well done for emptying 2 bookcases, I don’t think I could ever do that!
LikeLike
It was a first for me, Lauren…usually I empty a few shelves. I think I’m seriously in for more purging. What did it was my count: I had 1435 books on my shelves, not counting those on my e-reader. Yikes!
Thanks for stopping by.
LikeLike
Actually, not really. I’m usually picky about which books I buy which has helped keep some space open on my shelves.
LikeLike
That’s a wiser course of action, Breana. Maybe I will learn to be more picky. Thanks for stopping by.
LikeLike
I can’t purge! Can’t do it! I love your comment about loving places where I found books. That’s so me! Bookstores, libraries…other people’s houses with well-stocked bookshelves! Read your review on One plus One and i’ll have to pick that up after I try You Before Me! Thanks for sharing!
LikeLike
Thanks, Holly…it is so great to discover new favorite authors, isn’t it?
LikeLike
Me Before You!
LikeLike
Yes, and there is a sequel coming out: After You. Thanks, Holly.
LikeLike
I honestly can’t remember a time when I didn’t consider myself an avid reader. I had learnt to read before school and my mother used to park me in the library with the books while she shopped (probably not something I’d advocate)
LikeLike
Oh, well, the times were different then….and what is safer than a library? But yes, nowadays, I would hesitate. Thanks for stopping by, Cleopatra.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great answer. I’m with you, that I don’t use my local library as I used to since I got my Nook.
LikeLike
I love how you can order books online for library use…and get an e-mail when the book arrives. That is a great system…and I should do it more. Thanks for stopping by, Allison.
LikeLike
Oh yes. I have a box of purge books in the basement awaiting donation; some are copies of duplicates if you can imagine! LOL. What happened to Sparky? Now you have Pippa? I like your topics list above.
LikeLike
I still have Sparky, but since I got Pippa (my upgrade to Paperwhite), I find myself primarily using that one. Except I have books in collections on Sparky…so I sometimes check what I read and when.
Thanks, Susan, and I am grateful to have found someone to come collect the books from me. I don’t want the garage to look like a hoarder’s den…LOL.
LikeLike
Luv your story, Laurel! def resonating with me. Though I wouldn’t have known I was an avid reader I was on my way to our town library with mom every time she went 🙂
Thanks for sharing [and adding photos!]
LikeLike
Thanks! I liked that the library was next to the grocery store in our small village, so it was convenient for my mom to bring me. She encouraged reading…my dad did not. For him, life was about chores…LOL. Thanks for stopping by, Sharon.
LikeLike
I knew I was an avid reader as soon as I was able to read the comics by myself in the newspapers.
LikeLike
Ha-ha…Yes, I used to love the comics, too. We had some really cute ones in our local paper that I haven’t seen in years. Thanks for stopping by, Harvee.
LikeLike
I realized at an early age when I’d read all the library’s offerings from my favorite writers!
LikeLike
Yes, that happened to me, too, Michael, so I had to find a bigger library! LOL
LikeLike
You are being sooooo good! It’s inspiring!
LikeLike
Thanks, Patty…I scared myself when I counted that I had 1435 books on my shelves…I just realized that I didn’t count how many I gave away today, so I don’t know how many remaining books there are…
LikeLike
That is a great question! I think I was in elementary school
LikeLike
I love that question…it takes me back to my beginning addiction with books…LOL. Thanks for stopping by, Brandi.
LikeLike
I give some of my unread books or books that I already read that I didn’t like to my friends so I can have extra shelf space. 🙂
LikeLike
That’s a great policy, Angel….I have given some away on the blogs, but they don’t move on out fast enough…LOL.
LikeLike
Great story. I have always been an avid reader too. One day I will do some more purging. Right now, I have so many books there are piles on the floor of my office.
LikeLike
Thanks, Cheryl….and even after all of my purging, I still have rooms lined with books…LOL. However, now they are neatly arranged on shelves. I always want to have some books around me; just not so many that they dominate the rooms.
When I first moved here, my stacks of unread books were on the floor in my bedroom, and there were 166 of them! Now I only have a handful of unread books…unless we count the ones on my Kindle…LOL.
LikeLike
I’m just catching up – and here it is Thursday! I love Mondays now that I’m retired too. I loved being read to in Kindergarten and then really picked up my own reading when I was a teenager. Your empty shelves look great – good job! I am still not as avid a reader as many who are book blogging.
LikeLike
It’s great to find other book lovers, isn’t it, Pat? And thanks for stopping by. I am pleased about the empty shelves, too.
LikeLike
I’m so happy Monday’s have become something better for you. It’s amazing how something as simple as a career change can alter your perspective about something. I was in the same boat about the beginning of every month because I was a rent collector. Now, I’ve forgotten when the first of the month arrives. It’s so liberating:)
LikeLike
Thanks, Julieann…and it is great how something simple can change everything!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Amen!
LikeLike