Book Blogger Hop #1 (6/24 - 6/27)

This is my first time participating in this blog hop!

It's hosted by Jennifer at Crazy for Books,

and runs every week,

from Friday to Monday.

Be sure to check out her blog for

the hop participation rules!

This week’s question comes from Elena,

who blogs at Books and Reviews!

Be sure to visit her blog and tell her thank you!

"When did you realize reading was your passion

and a truly important part of your life?"

This is a truly fascinating question!  I really can't remember a time that reading was not a passion for me, as well as a very, very important part of my life.  I think I was born with a profound love of books! 

I do recall that one of my favorite childhood stories, which I read over and over in a children's book, was "El Mago Silbador" ("The Whistling Magician").  Mom says that I told her the whole story from memory one day!  I don't know how old I was at the time.  Maybe four or five. 

Another little anecdote Mom has told me is that she didn't need anything other than a Reader's Digest magazine to keep me quiet, back when I was two!  She'd put me in a playpen in the living room, with the magazine sitting next to me.  Then she'd watch me as I carefully opened the magazine, and just as carefully turned the pages, scrutinizing each one minutely.  I'd spend at least an hour in this activity, after which I would fall asleep, the magazine at my side. 

I also remember having lots and lots of comic books as a child.  My favorites were Superman and Mighty Mouse.  I preferred them to dolls!

Then there were the "condensed versions" of such classics as A Christmas Carol, Tom Sawyer and The Prince and the Pauper, which I read in Spanish, since that was my first language.  I also read the fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen in Spanish, as well as the fantastic tales of Hoffmann, the author of "The Nutcracker". 

When my family came to the U.S. and I knew enough English, I was able to read Tom Sawyer again, in the original language and full-length version.  I did have some trouble, though, with all those Southern colloquial expressions, since I was about ten at the time. 

I used to love going to the library to take out books, but this delight didn't last long, because the day always came when I had to return a book I had greatly enjoyed reading...  This happened over and over.  Each time I read a book, it became a part of me, so the day of its return was always a depressing occasion for me.  I wanted to keep the book!  So then I started bugging my parents to get me this or that book, for my birthday, for Christmas, or just whenever I decided that I just had to have a particular book!  So it was that I got books like Black Beauty, Little Women, Alice in Wonderland, Hans Brinker or The Silver Skates, Treasure Island, and many others.

I have always wanted to dive right into a novel and just be my favorite character!  I don't much like reality, which I find so boring... 

Somewhere along the line, I got into the habit of taking a book with me everywhere I went.  That habit has stayed with me, too.  If I have to wait in line anywhere, I read.  If I have to sit for a while in a doctor's office, I read.  I even used to read a bit when I was at a red light, but gave that up, realizing I was going a bit too far...lol.

I currently own well over 2,000 books.  I don't know the exact number.  Although most of them are in English, I do have some in Spanish.  I've been meaning to read Jorge Luis Borges for a while, and haven't gotten to him yet...

Books have always been my life!  And, as Borges used to say, I hope Paradise will be some kind of library!

Here are some of my bulging bookshelves!

(And my night table...)