When I was a child I was called a bookworm by my classmates. In first grade I was one of the "smart kids" in the advanced reading group. Every year through elementary school I looked forward to the Scholastic Book Fair which occurred conveniently in the fall after my birthday. There was also a program my school was part of where a couple times of year publishers donated books so each child could select one book for free. I have a distinct memory of several times when the librarian made sure she selected at least one novel that was horse related for me. In this way I acquired several books from the popular "Saddle Club" series.
At recess in middle school I spent my time reading. Through a combination of shyness social akwardness I found myself reading novels at lunch. During sixth grade I was nominated as "most avid reader" in the spring and that year I had spent our class Christmas party reading "Anne of Green Gables". The angst ridden air of teenagers did nothing to encourage my social awkwardness and I spent seventh and eighth grade going to the library and educating myself on Tudor England. Fantasy books became my refuge.
In high school I made some friends but I still preferred books to humans. During these years I discovered my love for historical fiction and began to read the works of Margaret George and Jean Plaidy. My interests in Japan also began to increasingly grow and I liked to read articles, essays, and informational books about this country.
College came and I found myself enjoying "Gilgamesh" and "Beowulf". I also started to read Japanese mangas like they were my drug. Trips to the bookstores with two of my friends became a weekly occurrence. I fell in love with yaoi genre in manga and became known as the "yaoi whore" to one of my friends. I bought books because I could and I wanted them. I blew school loan refund money on novels instead of sending it back to the loan lender. My books were consuming the floor of my room because I had run out of book shelf space.
Just a year ago my mother walked into my bedroom and proclaimed: 'You are such a book whore. How many books do you need?'
As many as I want and choose to keep. I buy books and manga faster than I can read them. I am a self confessed book whore. Who wants to go to bookstore with me?
