I <3 Books!

I am an obsessive reader. I read quickly. I read feverishly when it is a book that I love. I read with an appetite that devours every paragraph, sentence, word, letter. I have always been this particular brand of reader. When I was younger, my parents didn't take the T V away as punishment; they removed my books from my room.

I am a bibliophile. I have trouble borrowing books from the library because I like the feeling of owning a book and being able to pay that book forward to someone if I feel compelled to do so. My literary collection is massive and takes over many, many, many rooms in my house and one grandmother's attic. Relatives who have died have willed me their books collections. If ANOTHER fire were to take place in apartment building and it was to move beyond the kitchen, the amount of paper in my house would cause an implosion and the building would disintegrate in a matter of moments. I'm obsessed.

Books take on a life of their own. Stories are sometimes easier to deal with the reality of our own worlds. There are so many characters out there that I feel like they are family. There is a connection there, a bond, a definite attachment.

With all of this said there is no wonder that I managed to stumble upon the goodreads site a year or so ago. It was recommend to me by my friend, Mia. It is one of my favorite sites. If you aren't familiar with goodreads, it is a site that allows you to rate, review, and compare books. It is a social utility that connects you with people you may know or only know via a screen name. I think it is a great tool for discussion about literature and also as a means to determine what will be next.

Recently, goodreads added another feature to their site. The GIVE AWAYS section. Many publishing companies and authors are giving away copies of their books prior to publication. They ask, not require, that if you are a winner of a goodreads give away that once you have finished reading the book, to please give it a quick review. How easy is that?! The reader receives a free book and the author/publishing company gets some marketing and free press.

I was one of the lucky winners this week. I am anxiously awaiting The Longest Trip Home: A Memoir by John Grogan. He is the author of Marley and Me. How exciting! Now that I have won once, I'm hoping to receive the book, read it, review it, and win more! I visit the site daily to see what other authors are going to be giving away.

If you aren't registered on goodreads...do it. If you already are...look me up; let's compare our reading tastes. If you haven't submitted to win a give away...click on explore books, give aways and get to the winning!!!