The Power of Books...

Have you ever had a book that you were so completely enthralled by that you couldn't stop thinking about it, replaying the images it conjured over and over again in your mind? Well, I currently have two and it is causing quite the dilemma. Recently, I have had an insatiable appetite for reading novels, some of which are probably of a questionable nature, and I just can't stop. As soon as I finish one, I immediately pick up the next! One series I started reading just last week and I'm already on the third book- and these are 450 page novels or longer. This third book is one part of my dilemma. You see, I like to read during my lunch breaks in my car, as it distracts my mind from the duldrums of my job. But, I didn't think this book was the kind of book I wanted to read during those times; it's much more of an at-home-by-yourself type book. So, I brought another book with me to read during my repose and have found it to be just as exhilarating as the other. And sometimes, while reading over lunch, I have to stop in an akward place so I'm not late returning. I'm so enraptured by both stories (and my mind has played them up during the workday)that I can't decide which to read when I get home. I've been choosing merely on the merit of which has the most activity occuring at the time. And so I begin to read, forgetting dinner or television, and just read. Time flies and when I finally look up long enough to register the time displayed on the nearest clock I realize that four hours have gone by in seemingly a blink of an eye. It's past my bedtime, but I still can't stop. I must keep reading. My heart is pounding in my ears, my excited shallow breathing causes my muscles to tense, adrenaline is coursing through my veins, my pulse quickens...how could anyone sleep at a time like this! I've been hypnotized by the symbols on each page and I don't even realize that the sun has gone down...