My idea of paradise is a huge, sprawling library with huge vaulted ceilings and plush
oversized chairs next to a fireplace, stacks upon stacks of books inviting me to hear their stories.
My hope is that heaven includes an unbelievable collection of books and stories so that I could
have all of eternity to read.
My love for books and reading reach as far back as I can remember. Looking back, there
was never a time that I didn’t have a book in my hands. Even before I could read, I loved to walk
around holding my books and looking at their pictures. My mom read to me every night, which
is how I learned to read in the first place. I asked her to read Dr. Suess’s The Foot Book, my
favorite book, so many times that I had memorized it and was able to recite it by heart.
Somehow, reading just happened naturally after that and it is difficult for me to remember a time
that it wasn’t my favorite hobby.
Both of my parents kept fully stocked bookshelves, but I was fortunate enough to get the
biggest bookcase in the house put in my room. My mother would fill the shelves with books
from monthly “I Can Read” programs. I loved looking forward to her bringing home a small
brown box every month containing a couple small books. She would grab my attention as soon
as she got home from work and then calmly rip the box open, dig around inside for a moment,
and pull out brand new, shiny books, holding them up for me to appraise and exclaiming “Look
Kell! New bedtime stories!” It felt like Christmas. It still feels like Christmas when I get to buy
new books.
As I got older, I would read these books a few times over before bed. Sometimes after
playing, I would sit in front of my bookcase and just admire these books that I had come to love.
I would look at their spines and imagine what it might be like to live inside that world, jumping
from story to story. I still find myself wondering what it would be like over eighteen years later.
When I walk into a bookstore, I still like to look at the spines and imagine what mysteries might
be hidden inside.
Bookstores and coffee are my vice. I love the atmosphere. I love walking into a room and
smelling roasted coffee beans and new books. It is a thoroughly indescribable scent, but is
something that is able to completely alter the mood of my day. When I need a “pick-me-up,” that
is my sanctuary.