Confessions of a Bookworm

I have always been someone who loves books. I love to romanticise trips to a library or book shop. I had a thought about where this came from and it dawned on me, so many of my favourite characters in books, films and TV shows were bookworms. Starting with Belle from beauty and the beast, to Matilda (who was magic), to Hermione (also magic) through to Rory Gilmore (not magic) and beyond. No wonder so many characters in literature are bookworms because they are written by people with a love and appreciation of books. It all makes sense now. 

I am of the view that you can never have too many books, and if you are considering buying a book, the answer is almost always yes. A book is an investment, it doesn't go bad or out of style. A book is forever, not just for christmas. Also, how on earth am I supposed to achieve my lifelong dream of a floor to ceiling bookshelf with a ladder on wheels attached, if I cannot collect books. 

Of late I have been just that, a collector, and not a bonafide bookworm as I profess to be, a master of Tsundoku. 

At the back end of last year I had been carrying around a book I had spent most of the year trying to read. Eight Detectives by Alex Pavesi. As things started to wind down before christmas I got it in my head I wanted to finish reading it by the end of the year. This random and slightly pointless challenge really helped me make progress I was beginning to think I was incapable of.  At one point, I was reading before bed and had to give myself a little pep talk. It was 2 am and I could see just how close I was getting to the end, 2 short chapters stood in the way of me reaching my goal. 

Eight Detectives is a murder mystery for the most part wasn't too dark but was a little gruesome at times. Eventhough I was 2 teeny tiny chapters away from the end I had tell myself. You can either finish the book in the next hour and have an awful night’s sleep before work tomorrow that has the potential to be exacerbated by murder mystery induced nightmares or… you could put it down and finish it tomorrow. I made the executive decision to put the book down. 

Whilst I did not finish the book in 2022, I did finish it on the 1st Jan and who actually starts the new year on the 1st? So I am taking it as a win. The satisfaction of getting to the end of a book for the first time in forever has started something. Before now I have been the queen of starting books that I have never finished. At this point I have about 5 different books I have abandoned only a few chapters in. It is not that I don’t enjoy them,  I just run out of steam. 

The only book I have ever managed to start and finish in one sitting is Perks of being a Wallflower one christmas night after receiving it as  a present that morning. Coming in at only 231 pages for most that might not seem too impressive but for my easily distracted self I assure you it is an astonishing achievement.  

So far I am reading book number 2 of the year! Which is already an improvement on last year's reading stats. Therefore, this year's goal of reading more has already been achieved!! Everything else now is just a bonus. 

*insert fanfare here*

The first book I’ve read this year was also a christmas gift. Before the Coffee gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi. It was a short and snappy 213 pages and it was delightful. 

In a small back alley in Tokyo, there is a cafe which has been serving carefully brewed coffee for more than one hundred years. But this coffee shop offers its customers a unique experience: the chance to travel back in time.

I am not a book reviewer. I find reviews ridiculously hard to write, but I would thoroughly recommend this book. 

As soon as I was finished I picked up the next book on my list and spent the rest of my Sunday getting stuck in and really enjoying this one too and was once again struggling to put it down. My next read is The Wisteria Society for Lady Scoundrels, here's hoping it is the first of many more!