Character Building!

Let's be real. Books are cool. Very cool. So extremely cool that I cannot properly express just how cool they are with known words. That said, it's been a while since I sat down with a book and got emotionally entwined in the plot to the point where I forget who I am for, like...a day. I read most books in a sitting. Which means I sit all day and read. With food and dance breaks. Moving on...

So okay. It's been a while. Usually when it comes to books, I am both easy to please and extremely picky. In my mind, things are pretty simple. I like suspense, adventure, romance, comedy, tragedy, mystery. I'll take any one or a combination of any sort. So in theory, I could pick up a book and just become enamored with it. Realistically, that doesn't happen. I need good writing. I need chemistry. I need likable (or purposely hate-able) characters, beautiful words and descriptions. I need it all. And, yes, okay. Sometimes I do fall into those teen romance novels but you know what? Some of them are just so easy to gobble up! I am not ashamed, here.

The thing about reading something good is that the work gives you moments. There will be points in the story where you have to stop, because you are so overwhelmed by things that are happening, emotions that are being felt. And if you've never closed a book, held it to your chest and just sighed, well then you need to find a good book ASAP. I get so invested in books that I have to stop, just so I can reimagine the previous scene in my head, through the narrator's eyes. I have to become the character, or risk losing my mind. There have been times when I've needed a few days to finish a book. And in the down time between chapters or whatnot, I'm so intertwined with the characters and the plot and the universe the author is putting forward that I speak in ways that mirror the tone of the book. I see the world the way they do. I have an internal monologue going. I mentally narrate my day.

 I never thought things could be so normal on the outside, and yet be so completely chaotic internally. As I make my way down the stairs, I think, "it can't be only me, right? People out there feel the same way I do. They have to." I bypass by roommate and head to the bathroom, brushing my teeth in an attempt to keep some normalcy in my life. The humming of the electric toothbrush does nothing to calm my nerves. 

I'm not alone. Other people do this, right? They have to.

With this book I'm currently reading, I had to stop so that I could play a track that I felt fit the mood of the last chapter I read. It was ridiculous and altogether necessary for me to lie face down in bed and brood over the book while the song played. Have I mentioned that my life quite resembles that of Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen? 

You can always tell when I'm reading a book. I get philosophical, wordy, and quite annoying (due to the fact that I probably sound like a pretentious prick when interacting with others).

Point? Life is beautiful. Books are beautiful. You are beautiful.

Side note: My family is cute. During our Christmas gift exchange, I received books, tea, and socks. They know me so well.

Other side note: I usually leave links to things. But I had no related click-through words this week. So, uh...go watch what. Or listen to New Politics. You're welcome.

Post Script: (Although it should go without saying) Bo Burnham is awesome.