I love books. Always have. I am sure there is no surprise there. There is nothing like immersing yourself in a good story, while shutting out the word around you, especially now, in the midst of a pandemic. The first book series I remember being hooked on as a child was ‘The Babysitters Club’ by Ann M Martin. I devoured them.
As a book lover, the urge to buy books, is a real first world problem. I currently have eight books waiting to be read. Yet a couple of weeks ago while out shopping with my mum, I bought two more. That makes ten. I walked past a book shop, don’t judge me. Granted, ten is not a huge amount compared to some bookworms I know, but ten is still a lot to get through.
Oh, hang on. Make that eleven. Last week I visited a local coffee shop that has a little community free book exchange. I left paperback copies of my books ‘Crayons and Chaos’ and ‘Making March’ for people to discover. While waiting for my skim mocha, I was torn. So many good books were on that shelf. An internal battle was going on between my head and my heart. That one looks good. Nope I don’t need any more books right now. Look away Hayley, look away.
I grabbed my coffee and headed out of the shopping centre. I didn’t make it to the escalators leading back to the car park, before turning back to go and get a book that really grabbed my attention. There is just no hope for me, when it comes to books.
I am a slow reader, as I don’t get a lot of time to read unfortunately. So those eleven books won’t be completed until well into 2021. You can bet your bottom dollar though, that I will buy at least four more before Christmas. You see, there are two things working against my better judgment here. One, there are so many great authors to discover in the wonderful writing community on Twitter, and two, not being able to walk past a book shop without going inside. Once I am inside, some money is going to spent.
I prefer paperbacks. There is something magical about holding a paper book in your hand. After years of being resistive to purchasing a kindle, I now read both paperbacks and e-books. I have now grown to love my kindle, as I can purchase more books at a lower cost, allowing me to support more self-published authors like myself. Let me tell you, there are many talented writers out there.
So far this year, I have read six wonderful books, that I really enjoyed by fellow self-published authors. I would recommend them all to readers. They include;
‘A Sprinkle of Love’ by Rebecca Ridge
‘Snowbound’ by Monique McDonell
‘Up and Downs’ by D.B. Carter
‘The Future Bride’ by J.G. MacLeod
‘And Then There Was You’ by Suzy Turner
‘The Back Up Plan’ by Elsie McArthur
Who knows how many more books I will buy in the near future. I really should join my local library and save myself some money, but for now I will continue sticking my head in a good book whenever I get the chance.