the essence

I've been reminded how much I love to read. Not just anything, though, books. As a kid I was always reading. My summer was filled with a stack of books that I'd lay in bed & read all day. I'd read while I was eating, while I was in car, wherever. I loved it.

Then, something happened. Really, I guess, life happened. Over the past few years I've picked up the habit of primarily reading magazines & news articles. I can actually finish those in just a few minutes time, whereas a book requires a dedicated chunk of time in order to have the satisfaction of reaching the end of the story.

Last time I was in Orlando, though, my mom handed me a book & asked if I'd read it. Of course, I had not (the only books I've really made time for over the past few years are the Harry Potter series). My grandmother gave it to her & my mom enjoyed it so she passed it onto me. Because of her recommendation, a few days later I picked it up & began to read.

And, here's my problem with reading books. Once I begin, I DON'T WANT TO PUT THEM DOWN. You know how some people can't have a tv in their house because they'll watch it all of the time? That's how I am with books. Except, when I'm reading I can't iron clothes or wash dishes like I can when I watch tv. Which is why when "life" happens for me, reading becomes quite difficult because it becomes very easy for me to ditch all of the responsibilities that life brings my way just so I can read my book.

I'm pleasantly surprised that this is the book that's reminded me of my love for reading. I say that because it's a Christian Fiction book, something that after years of reading as a young adult, I've pretty much given up on (there are only so many frontier stories with perfect characters that I can take).



I'm a bit ashamed to admit that it took me to around page 80 to realize that this is the book, Redeeming Love, a group of my friends were discussing when we were together a short while ago that mimics the story of Hosea in the Bible. What can I say, I didn't read the back cover of the book or anything because I didn't want to know what to expect from the story so I was quite slow in putting the pieces together (another problem with me & books - I like to read the last page first, not for any dark reason like Harry, just because). This time I just jumped right into reading at the beginning of the book & I've been quite happy with the story so far. It's much more entertaining than I expected & it just may get me to pick up another book when I'm finished - I just need to be careful not to neglect everything else in my life!