Some Might Call It Addiction

Trey Smith

My wife and I had something of an argument the other day. She is becoming more and more concerned that I may be an addict. She pointed out that when it comes to a certain something, it seems that I can't control myself.

After our brief tempest, I thought a lot about what she said. Maybe she's right. Maybe I need help. As a first step, I need to acknowledge my problem. So, here goes.

My name is Trey Smith and I am a bookaholic. I don't know what it is about them, but I have had a love affair with books my entire life. Large books. Small books. Picture books and books without any pictures at all. Small type or large print; it makes no difference.

While it's true that I read a lot on the internet and my computer, there is nothing like the feel of a book in my hands. I like the feel of the cover and the pages. I sometimes write on the borders and I've been known to dog-ear a page or two.

My bed -- remember that I sleep on the floor -- is encircled by piles of books! I bet there are 30 books or so near my bed right now. Some of these books offer analyses of current socio-political events and concepts. A few focus on the philosophy of Zen -- something I have been researching lately. Probably one-half of the books are Taoist texts or discussions of Taoist themes.

Several of my favorite online used booksellers have been running some great sales lately. Since my wife has been getting a lot more hours at work for the past two months, we've had a little extra cash in the bank account. So, I've spent $8 here or $12 there to feed my addiction. I figure it makes sense to buy used books during those times we can afford it, so I will have a backlog of books to read when we can't.

My addiction has gotten so bad that, not only do I buy books, but I check them out from the library and I've even borrowed some from my dad, a bookaholic in his own right. I don't know how I could go on if I didn't have books!

It's true. My name is Trey Smith and I am definitely a bookaholic!!