I heart books.

I'm a little bit (a lot) obsessed with books. I love to read them. I love to smell them. I love to feel the covers. My favorite kind of cover is one that has sort of a matte finish with really big, shiny, smooth, letters for the title. Dan Brown books meet my cover test most of the time. So do both of the Freakonomics books.

I love to stack books really high on the end table next to my bed until they literally fall over.

I love to make lists of books I want to read and then put a check mark by the title after I read it. (I know. NERD.)

I have rules for how I read:

1. I have to find somebody that knows my book who I can talk with while/after I read it.

2. I never, ever read a book without someone recommending it. I am not a risk-taker when it comes to reading new books. I don't have time to read a book I'm not going to enjoy or get something out of.

3. If I'm at home, I have to read under a blanket or comforter. Have to. And I have to be in my bed or in the chair that sits in the corner of my den. The only exception to this rule is when I'm reading to my kids. That can happen anywhere.

4. This isn't a rule, just a bonus: If Nathan is reading at the same time as me, my reading enjoyment goes up by like a billion percent.

5. I always, ALWAYS read two books at the same time. Not simultaneously. Just together. Like I'll read an "easy" book on the same timeline I'm reading a more challenging one. Never just one book. Never 3 books. Always 2.

Until this week. I broke rule #5. I was doing my usual....reading my 2 books. And then I made a trip to Barnes and Noble, found 3 more books I just absolutely had to have, and started reading them. So, now I'm reading 5 books. Five. I've got them divided into categories. (Again. NERD.)

I've got my "I can read this one while I'm riding the bike at the gym" book.

I've got an "Ahhh, I'm in bed and this is what I can read until I drift off to sleep" book.

I've got 2 "Highlighters and post-its are everywhere b/c every other sentence is an amazingly thoughtful quote and I HAVE to meet this author" books.

And I've got a "My 4-year-old is tough and I need some advice NOW" book.

If you've read to this point, you either:

a. think I'm the biggest nerd on the planet.

b. heart books as much as I do.

c. have nothing else to do.

d. want to know what books I'm reading.

e. are my mom and have to read all my blog entries because that's what moms do.

If you answered "d", here you go: