Where I Confess My Dorkiness

Remember when you tried everything in your power to avoid being labeled a dork? Nowadays, dorkiness is the new cool. Which is a huge relief, because I can confess my dorky nature without the fear of being judged. Not that you guys judge me. Right? If the knitting weren't enough to push me over the edge, I also love to read. As in, I would rather read ANYTHING rather than read nothing. I used to secretly read under my covers as a kid and now that I am an adult, I frequently stay up past my bedtime to finish a chapter or two.

Summertime is the best reading time for me. School is "out" for the summer, which means that I don't get in to bed and fall into a deep sleep after three sentences. I plow through books in the summer, making it necessary for me to keep a stack of books on my bedside table or I will be left reading recipes or worse other peoples Facebook pages. And this summer, I have finally mastered my system for replenishing said stash.

I used to make a mental list of all the books that came up in conversation or that I read about somewhere. Which never worked. Ever. I would find myself at the library walking in circles trying desperately to rack my brain for a hint of a title or author. Then I advanced to the paper list. Genius, right?! Except that I always left it at home. And then I got an iPhone and it changed my life. Nowadays, when I am at a bookstore, I take a picture of a book that interests me. Every now and again, I transcribe the title into my gmail tasks titled "books to read." Then (and this is the genius part, trust me) I hop on to my library's website and reserve the books on my list that are available. This means that every week or so, a lovely librarian calls me and tells me that a book that I have requested is available. I pop in, return the book I've just finished reading, grab my new book and am in and out in three minutes tops. Seriously, this system makes me more proud that anything else in my life right now. And I am not at all embarrassed to admit it.