Nerds Anonymous.

I want to say something. You may think a little less of me, you might think I'm a little geeky, or maybe you will get the (erroneous) idea that I'm not the Life Of The Party. But I'm just going to come right out with it.

I LOVE BOOKS.

I mean I love the pages, the actual cover, the crisp paper and the unmistakable smell of fresh ink. I love the feel and the sound of the spine cracking and the pages turning. And while we're at it, I would like to take this opportunity to let you know that I am a firm believer in judging books based on their cover. Whoever said that one should not judge a book by it's cover is living in a delusional world and probably isn't very attractive.

I think you have to be a real bookie to understand my love and obsession with books. When I'm a little sad, or when I need a vacation and the jet isn't in the garage, Barnes and Noble is my place of solace. I buy books the way many people buy shoes (don't get me wrong...I have a love affair with shoes, too, but just on a different scale.) It's an obsession that Gordon doesn't understand. Once, he suggested that I sell a couple of my books to some sort of used book dealer. I looked at him like he had just suggested that I sell Barclay O'Neil to the cat pimp (work with me here.) The mere thought of parting with any of my books is a disconcerting and foreign concept to me.

Whether I have loved or hated it, a book is an investment to me. I have invested my time, my attention, my emotions, my thoughts...each book, in it's very own way, has stretched the boundaries of who I am. I sort of view books as little Tetris blocks, each working together, fitting together, contributing in a very real way to the person that I am. If you were to look inside of my soul, you would see "Ramona Quimby, Age 8", down there towards the bottom of the stack. Surrounded by Ramona would be Anne Shirley and Laura Ingalls, Mister Toad and Ralph S. Mouse. Further on up the stack, you'll find the characters from Dracula, The Metamorphosis, The Yellow Wallpaper and various other so-called Forced Reading Materials from school days. Sandwiched between these, you'll find the Ya-yas, who figure a prominent standing in my Top Tier of Favorites.

The Divine Secrets of the Ya-ya Sisterhood (and the accompanying novels) are amongst the books that had a profound impact on my life as a woman, a wife, a daughter and a sister. I make a point of re-reading them once a year, not only for the pure entertainment value, but also to remind me of the complex and beautiful way that female relationships grow and work. Every single time I finish, I am tempted to call my mama and my sissy, dance wild dances and sing "Moon River".

I store my books on bookshelves in my office and in my living room. I cram them in there, every which way they will fit, categorized according to my own personal emotions for each. I cherish them the same way that I would a whole collection of best friends and family members. They are a very real part of me and every single book on the shelf has it's own spot in my heart and in my mind.

One of these days, I'll write one of my own. Until then, though, I'll enjoy the comfort of sitting in my living room, surrounded by those old and new friends.