The Gift of Reading

I want to tell you a story, a heartbreaking story of a book that went missing and was never found. Prepare yourself: get a box of tissues and some chocolate to sooth the soul. When I lost An Ember in the Ashes last week I had about 40 pages left. I was quite literally wrought with grief. There was no way I could afford to get another copy and I very much wanted to have it in my collection. It's one of those books that I want to keep for-fucking-ever.  I’m drowning in doctor bills, now more than ever since I broke a rib coughing because I had bronchitis. I was feeling super down because I, quite simply, should NOT be buying books. (Isn't that a horrifying thought?)

After I bought my first copy of An Ember in the Ashes I devoured that thing like I hadn’t read in days (I had, btw) so when I lost it (no one turned it in so is it fair to say it was stolen?) that sucked. Like, it sucked major ass. I only had $30 left on my Barnes and Noble gift card and that, quite frankly, is how I’m going to get books the rest of the year. I lamented my bad fortune on Twitter, like a true reader, incredibly upset.

But then, the next day, I woke up to a “Congratulations” message from Barnes and Noble presenting a gift card for $20 from a “Friend of Sabaa Tahir”. It was amazing, I was so touched, that someone cared deeply enough about books that they gave me enough money to buy another copy with a note, instructing me to get the book and finish that darn thing! So, I threw on some clothes and broke every speed limit ‘till I got to Barnes and Noble. I literally ran inside and grabbed another copy of the book and raced down the stairs and purchased it. I went back upstairs (my favorite part of BN because the YA fiction is up there) and I read the 40 pages I had left until I finished it and started the first stage of grief,  as I am prone to get after I finish a good book. Browsing the YA section cheered me up a bit and took my thoughts off the sad fact that I'm going to have to wait a very, very long time for the sequel to come out.

To be surrounded by books, new books, that I will one day own, and to read the gifted book in that store, with the new books to keep me company, was a wonderful feeling. I am so thankful to “Friend of Sabaa”, I hope they realize how special that was and have great it made me feel.

And I owe another thanks to a friend and a follower who gifted me The Enchanted Chronicles series, one of the first series I remember reading as a young girl; it helped me through some really shitty times in my life and to own it myself, to be able to take that nice, new book off my shelf and read it--without facing all of those fines I end up racking up at the library with every single book I check out--as many times as my heart desires, is a wonderful feeling.

Getting the gift of a book gives me a thrill like nothing else I’ve experienced in my 24 years of life. When it’s a good book, I not only have content for my blog, I also have gone through a whole ‘nother world and I will always have that experience; when it’s not the best book, then I have some content for my blog, too, and I learn a bit more about myself as a reader. Regardless, I want the opportunity to own the worlds that I get to live in so I can do it over and over and over again.

I’ll write another post about why I like to own books, but, very briefly: Owning a book makes me feel connected to it, in a way I don’t experience with library books. I get so very excited waiting for one in the mail or going to a bookstore and picking one or two out, knowing that it’s mine, all mine and that I can read it, love it, then put it on my bookshelf surrounded by other books I love; books that I can keep forever. I tried explaining this to my mother and sister--that me getting books is like them getting clothing frequently. It’s "my thing", just like clothing is "their thing." I’m sure makes a lot more sense to my readers than it does to my sister and my mom ;)

Again, a million thanks to Friend of Sabaa and Steven who gave me the gift of two worlds and many lives. I look forward to (re)visiting them many, many times. A review of these two books/series (in the case of the Enchanted Forest Chronicles) will be coming up. Stay tuned and happy reading!

-Angie