My name is Kate, and I have an addiction...

To bookstores. Old. New. It doesn't matter. I love the smell of old books, the mustiness of them. But I also like the smell of new books, the clean start before delving into the thoughts of another and getting lost. I can be strong, I can pass by a bookstore and not get sucked in if I am in a hurry. It does not affect my daily life too much. My husband and I do have enough books to fill an entire small room of bookshelves though.

I have been reading since I was 4, when my father would patiently help me sound out all the words in Snow White and Cinderella. Then in kindergarten I went off to a French magnet school where everything we read was French, so I read children's books like Spot and Madeleine and Babar in French. It wasn't until highschool reading to little kids that I ever read them in English. The language does not matter to me, I am a true bookworm.

If you ask either my husband or myself what we would first buy were we to suddenly have a million dollars, and for both of us it is books. My husband has an affinity for science fiction, so his would be his all time favorite The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein, a first edition signed. The author rarely signed books, so boy was I shocked when I went searching for one as a possible gift for him and found out it is the same price as a car! I, however have more traditional tastes in that I want first editions of Little Women and several books by Jane Austen. I think I have 3 copies of Little Women alone in our little library, and it ranks as my all time childhood favorite.

Reading has remained a passion of mine my entire life. I can very easily read 2-3 books a day when I have a free day. And when it is a particularly long awaited book (such as the 7th Harry Potter) even my husband isn't allowed to speak to me unless he is on fire.......in which case to tell me so that my book doesn't catch flame! In college, amidst pomping the sorority float for Homecoming and studying for classes, I could oftentimes be found in bed or lying on the couch curled up with a good book. I am an equal opportunity reader, I will read anything at least once if it is recommended to me. When my husband and I first got engaged he immediately had to leave for England the next day, and in keeping closer to one another I sent him with The Da Vinci Code that I loved, and he left me with The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress. Since then, thanks to some recommendations on his part I have fallen in love with books I might not have heard of.

I think for me, the opportunity to lose myself in a story is what I have always loved. The world fades, it is just you and the story, and for a little bit you can immerse yourself in this completely different life. You can laugh and cry with the characters, sometimes feeling for them, and sometimes relating. You can learn a plethora of new words. Soignee, for instance, is one of my favorites: showing elegance and sophistication. The word just rolls off of your tongue, and sounds as elegant as what it is describing.

So here is another list of some of my favorite books, I will try not to make it too long!

1. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
2. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (or any other of her works)
3. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
4. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
5. French Women Don't Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano ( I read this like a novel, along with the second one)
6. Jemima J by Jane Green
7. Girl With A Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier (for those of you who are not extremely artistic I highly recommend this one, as a friend once said to me that after reading it she finally understood the way I saw things when I was painting)
8. The entire Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
9. The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams (this I actually got for my husband as a wedding gift since I call him my bunny)
10. Chic Shopping Paris by Rebecca Perry Magniant
11. Stardust by Neil Gaiman
12. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman (these are my favorites that belong to my husband)
13. Any Paul Coelho book---The Alchemist, The Witch of Portebello, The Devil and Miss Prym
14. Books by Joanne Harris, including Chocolat, Holy Fools, and even her divine cookbooks The French Kitchen and The French Market, highly recommended for those who like French food.
15. Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
16. Celebrations by Maya Angelou ( I particularly love the poem Prayer)
17. The InStyle book, Style 101, What Every Stylish Woman Should Know (some of it you will already know, and some was very nice to learn)
18. The Devil Wear Prada by Lauren Weisberger
19. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
20. Memoirs of A Geisha by Arthur Golden

I kept it to 20, but as I said earlier I am always open to recommendations, so if you have any you think are wonderful, let me know! I promise to try and read anything recommended to me.