Pros and Cons of Being a Bookworm

1. You are never ever bored.

Life can be really boring at times. The mundane tasks are most boring. Sitting in a waiting room at a doctor’s office, riding a bus or Uber…these are the times where bringing a book along remedies the boring fact of waiting. I always bring a book with me when I leave the house, two if I am close to finishing the current one. 

2. You live in a variety of worlds.

A book is not just bound pages with words printed in ink. A good book brings you to another world, providing an escape from our chaotic lives. Reading brings you on adventures and one develops a vivid imagination. Using your imagination, you can travel there whenever you please. My mind takes me through various adventures that I read. You get to live different lives.

3. Expanded vocabulary.

With constant reading and a wide genre of books, we often pick up new vocabulary words. I look up words that I am unfamiliar. This means readers always have perfect and unique words to describe everything.

4. You have an endless conversation starters.

Books are filled with more than adventures. Many have  lessons and/or issues. Almost every book I have read brings up something that can be used to begin a conversation. 

5. Reading opens a door to a new world of imagination .

I have met many readers through my years of reading. You have instant bonding with those who read and enjoy the same books as you. Being friends with fellow book lovers saves you the embarrassment when you begin jumping up and down in public about a new book release …I have done it. People looked at me like I was crazy. Not only do you now have an open door to new book loving friends, but authors as well. I have met so many amazing readers and authors alike. 

6. You have a never-ending reading list.

This holds true for almost every book lover I know. We discover many new books to add to it. Book recommendations are always welcome and given freely, introducing you to books you may have never heard of before.

 

Now that I have shared some of the positives that come with being an avid book reader, let’s move on to the not so positives.

 1. Book Hangovers.

 A book hangover occurs when you finish a book that was so enjoyable that you feel as if it is impossible to recover. I recently experienced this. I wanted to continue my journey in that book, but it sadly…had come to an end. When you are face to face with a book hangover, you have three options: reread that book right away, mourn the ending of the story, or pick something new up and hope it removes the  cloud hanging over you.

2. Choosing what to read next.

You have to hope the book you choose can compete with the other you finished. The next book cannot be any book, it often has to fit your mood. I have three bookshelves that are packed full of books, but I find myself with nothing to read. Sometimes those books do not peak my interest.

3. No shelf space.

Bookworms love buying and receiving new books. Unfortunately there comes a point in our lives that  we run out of shelf space. Some respond with “Just stop buying books.” Are you crazy? Telling a book lover to not buy books is like telling a human to stop breathing. We love to read and need to feed our hunger for new books. So, the only reasonable solution to this dilemma is to buy new bookshelves, or build them.

4. No money.

I personally feel the pain of this one often. It is sad when you walk past a book store and know you can not purchase your friends.. Good news to those readers like myself though, there is an amazing place where they let you borrow books for FREE! Yes, you heard me…free. Go to your local library.  That is what they are there for. Libraries are a treasure.

5. Lack of sufficient sleep.

This is my personal dilemma. When you are so deep into a book you hate to put it down but it is 12 am and you have to be up at 5:30. You tell yourself that you will only read one more chapter, or in my case read until you end on a page that ends in a complete sentence. I hate ending on a page that does not end in a period. Before you know it, you are laying in bed with a finished book next to you and you have to be up in an hour to begin your day. Yes…you should join book addicts anonymous, you have a problem. 

Well, in the end enjoy your books and never let anyone tell you have too many…because that is not possible.