Book Binging

So I'm one of those people that has a serious problem when it comes to delegating my time when a good book is involved.  I have no control.  It's like an addiction on steroids.  When I get into a book that I like - getting chores done, meals made/eaten, precious sleep (and I like my sleep!), and, yes, even bathroom breaks taken all get put on the back burner.  Ross, right now, is the only thing that snaps back into reality; but, the minute that little guy goes down for his nap you'll find me huddled in a corner somewhere or sprawled out on the couch devouring as many pages as I can.  

My mother-in-law and I have some conflicting views on how to read books.  She is very much like me when it comes to book binging, but she can't stand not knowing the end - so to save time, she reads the end first and then will go back and read the rest.  I don't know why, but my feathers get so rustled whenever this comes up in our conversations.  I find that I have some serious opinions when it comes to book reading!  I understand why she does what she does, but it's almost like cheating yourself of the whole experience the book brings.  So while she is much more efficient with her time getting her daily tasks done and a proper night's sleep in, I'm the one still in pajamas with the dishes still in the sink trying to get to the end of the book.  Who has it right?  Who knows really? :)

I'm also not so much of a go-out-on-a-limb and try any random book kind of person.  It seems every time I do that I get the boring or even trashy books.  When I worked in my favorite bookstore, The Read Leaf,  some years ago, I felt like I was in the mix of it all.  I loved talking books with whatever customer came in, swapping favorite titles and genres.  Of course, my paycheck would basically go back into the store every month with all the books I would get.  I miss those days!  I love a good recommendation, and I love giving a good recommendation; but, I would say I more of a mooch recommending sort of person.  Rarely have I picked up my own book no one has told me about before and end up telling everyone else about it.  I'm a middle of the grapevine sort of person who's happy to pass along a good recommendation that I read myself.  Lately, I've fallen into the craze about The Help, and I must say that this was a definite book binge for me.  I fell in love with the voice and culture of the book within the first two pages.  It was an interesting take on the 1960's about two black women working as maids for white households and a white woman who doesn't fit in with the domestic woman role and wants to be a writer.  The all come together to write about what it's like to be a black woman working for a white family and finding and erasing lines between the two races. 

I gave up a few hours of sleep every night until I had to pry my own fingers from the book and put it down, reminding myself, that Ross works like clockwork and waits for no man when he wakes up in the mornings.  I've finally finished it which will hopefully let me go back to cleaning my house and actually getting sleep at night, but it was definitely worth the time.  A very good read.  Now I'm off for that good sleep....