A Library Kind of Love: Get to Know Me and My Obsession with Books

Wow! Where do I start? My name, perhaps? Hello my name is Destiny and I am a complete and total bibliophile. The story of my life could probably be condensed into a three hundred page contemporary novel. The awful movie adaptation that in no way resembles the book would star Emma Watson as yours truly. It would involve a lot of cats.

The greatest love of my life–the love of words–came to me in the form of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. No, that is not a typo. Being the incredibly intelligent human being that I am *queue studio audience laughter* I read the second book in the famous Harry Potter series first. And I fell madly in love.

That was four years ago. OMG that was four years ago. Excuse me while I go sob in Spanish. Well in those last four years I’ve developed an overwhelming love for the books and stories on the waiting shelves of libraries and locally owned and operated bookstores. To give you a sense of my taste, here are my top ten books of all time.

My top 10 books of all time

(in no particular order and subject to change at any given moment)

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

They Both Die At The End by Adam Silvera

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

Turtles all the Way Down by John Green

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sanz

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by JK Rowling

Unfiltered by Lily Collins

How Reading Has Changed My Life

Reading is beneficial, yes we all know this. At least everyone but that annoying family member that thinks you’re an alien in the corner contacting the mother planet with that big bulky thing. But this beautiful and underappreciated hobby has become so much more than a pastime. I’ve gained friends (both the real and fictional kind), knowledge of the world, and a greater appreciation for human struggles.

I’ve had the opportunity to read a book and see inside a life entirely unlike my own, yet I close the novel with a better understanding of my life. I have also had the immense pleasure of reading books that almost completely mirror my life and me as a person. I cannot explain how this type of connection, knowing that you aren’t alone in your struggles, has affected my life and my personality.

Each novel I read, the good and the let’s-not-talk-about-it,  leaves some sort of mark on me. Harry Potter, obviously, gave me a love for reading. The Hunger Games trilogy (though I thoroughly dislike it) made me speculate government control and oppression. I’m so grateful for having picked up Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets on that sunny morning four years ago. I would have been even happier to have chosen the first book in the series, but not all love is perfect.

Other random bookish facts about me:

Reading in bad lighting damaged my eyes so much, I now need bifocals. But I still read past my bedtime with a crappy book light because, you know, I’m just so smart.

When I let my friends borrow books, I take off the dust jacket first. And I never lend paperbacks. NEVER!

I owe more than $200 to my local library. Um…oops?

There are only three bookstores near me (two if you don’t include Barnes & Noble) SEND HELP!

I own 150+ books but I need about a thousand more to truly be satisfied.

I refuse to watch a movie if I haven’t read the book first.

I’m the president of my school’s book club.

Out of my huge Mexican family, I’m 1 out of the 3 people that like to read.

Feel free to leave a comment on how amazing this post was. God, I crack myself up.

Bye for now fellow bibliophiles.