What Have I Become???

Y'all...I am a bookworm. What the hey???

If you know me well, this should come to you as a surprise.

I don't know how this happened. All through middle school and high school, it was like pulling teeth to get me to read a book. I remember the annual Read-A-Thon in elementary school. Friends, family and neighbors would pledge a certain amount of money for each book you read. I, in my ever-illusive way would naturally just write down every book I'd ever read in my life up to that point. Including, the Bible and the entire Bearenstein Bears collection.

I don't think I finished one book in my whole middle school and high school career. Wait, no. Two. Night by Elie Wiesel and The Great Gatsby, or maybe I just think I finished Gatsby because we watched the movie after we finished the book. The others, I'd either get halfway through and quit or get to where I only had like two more chapters, and quit.

(I do have to admit that there was this one series of books called The Incredible Worlds of Wally McDoogle, written by Bill Myers, the acclaimed creator of the McGee and Me series. The first book was entitled My Life As A Smashed Burrito With Extra Hot Sauce. The series is a focuses on the strange adventures of 6th grader Wally McDoogle. While telling his real-life story, he writes his own hilarious science-fiction shorts that intertwine comedically into his life. A must read for a kid who loves some funny business. I used to read these in church when I was bored. I know. I know.)

I'm serious, y'all. I'd sit down and try to read and three pages in, I was conked out. The sheer thought of reading a whole chapter of a book put me in a lethargic state soon followed by a deep coma.

This is where my friend Ashley would come in. Ashley was a bookworm. I'm serious. She could probably sit down and read every Harry Potter book ever written in about 12 hours. Girl had some mad reading skillz. She was like SuperReader on steroids.

One of the reasons I never worried about finishing a book was because I knew Ashley had finished it two days after it had been assigned and I could always get her to fill me in. She was like my own personal human version of Cliff's Notes. It was great.

Except not really. Ash was really good at filling me in, but I would always forget that the teachers wanted details. BIG details. Especially Mr. Avalon. Dude would seriously take one word on page 162, Chapter 6, 13th line from the top, and go crazy on analyzing it. And I LOVED him for it. He was seriously my favorite teacher...and I'm pretty sure I was his favorite student. He made me a writer. But I digress.

Skip to present day. When in the past it would take me two months to finish just one book, I have recently read several books in one week spans (each), Multiple Blessings in three days, The Shack in four, and I just order three more books that I'm sure I will read quickly. I started Crowded Skies: Letters To Manhattan by Tara Leigh Cobble last night and had to stop myself before I read the whole thing in one sitting.

And not once was I tempted to fall asleep.

What is the deal?

Have I grown up? Has my A.D.D. dissipated? Or am I just reading more interesting books? I've actually, recently, bought some of the books that I half-read in high school, or found them at my parents house (Mom, did we get rid of those books?), just so I can finish them. Because I know they were good books. My teachers wouldn't have made us read them if they weren't.

So there you have it. My name is Katie Walden, and I'm a bookworm. Sue me. Or buy me more shelf-space. I'm totally running out.