A book you can’t shake

Reading is one of my favorite hobbies. It doesn’t take much for me to be sucked into another world and completely absorbed with a character’s life.

This past weekend, I read two books in a series my sister and her boyfriend gave me for my birthday. After completing the last page of the second book, I immediately called her.

She didn’t pick up, so I left a message saying something like, “I just finished that book you gave me and I feel like someone punched me in the heart.” Did I mention I was simultaneously sobbing and laughing while leaving said message?

Sobbing because the book was so heart wrenching and laughing because I knew how ridiculous I must sound. It wasn’t pretty. The look on my husband’s face when he saw me in this state made me pretty sure he thinks I have a “reading problem” if there is such a thing.

This isn’t the first time I’ve been so captivated by a book I can’t disassociate myself from it after I put it down. I was the same way with Twilight, Hunger Games, etc. I think about the characters’ lives long after the book ends. They live on in my mind until the next set of characters take their place. I’ll find myself pondering, “I wonder what character X would think of [insert real life scenario or event]” only to remember he wouldn’t think anything at all unless the author’s pen prompted him to do so.

I recently read a book that had a great female character who was a strong Christian and prayed unceasingly throughout the story. After reading the book, I found myself praying more. I intentionally avoided reading the Harry Potter series because the movies were so dark, they gave me nightmares. These things stay with me. I carry a little piece of every book I’ve ever read around in my heart.

What does this tell me?

I need to be careful about what I read because it impacts me in a profound way. Also, this is the kind of writer I aspire to be — one who writes books you can’t shake.