Books.

Books.

I love them.

I love reading them.

I love being surrounded by them.

I love the smell and the feel of them.

I would rather read than do almost anything else in the world, and that includes eat. (Yes, believe it or not!)

Books are part of my life, part of my home, part of me.

I am always reading one, sometimes several at a time.

I learn from books. I teach with books. I decorate with books. I buy books. I share books. I borrow books.

I collect books. Signed books. Unsigned books. Books by certain authors. First editions. Reprints. Old copies, damaged copies, annotated copies. Books about certain subjects. Books about books.

I have become recently obsessed with the idea of creating a book. Designing it. Writing it. Binding it. Making a book that is "me." I've been crawling through the crafting sections of a few B&Ns, looking for a specific book that was recommended to me: How to Make Books, by Esther Smith. Two stores said they had it in stock, but it was nowhere on the shelves. I'm thinking of ordering it online, sight unseen, even though I'm a bit leery about doing so. I'd really rather see it, touch it, know that I want it because I see it and love it.

I've browsed through other books in the store, other books about the same topic, but I wasn't thrilled with them. What if I don't like this one? Just because someone recommended it to me doesn't mean I won't be disappointed in it.

Lord knows I've bought other books sight unseen. What makes this one different? What makes me hesitate about buying this one? I've spent $80+ on a book about libraries, sight unseen. Why am I so uncertain about buying this one? It almost makes me think I should buy it, just because I have no real reason not to... (Sorry about that ending preposition...)

But I'll try a few other stores first. There's a Borders at the lake that I'll be passing en route to the beauty supply store, which is the only place I can now find my favorite hairspray. Which is another story, for another day...