Feeding The Habit

     I recently had to travel four times, on business, all in the space of six weeks. All four trips were to four different destinations. For any normal person, that could mean a chance to enjoy different cities, see new things, and enjoy the change of pace in one's life. For someone else it might mean the trouble of going  
through queue after queue of customs clearance, passport checks and security checks, not to mention the hassle of baggage claim and hotel check-ins and check-outs. But for a book addict, it was an opportunity to feed the habit.

     Each trip came with a preparation period of first finding out the best book-selling dens (or as regular people call them, bookshops) and then mapping out the best routes that would allow me to visit the maximum number of shops with a minimum waste of time (I was after all travelling for business and spare time was scarce).

     Since I didn't have the luxury of mobile internet, I had to print out the maps after setting the routes using Google Maps, and I also printed out my Amazon shopping cart (several pages long, and by several I mean eight) so I wouldn't forget any book I already wanted (the ones I would buy on the go are another story).

     Four trips also meant four times I get to check the duty free shop on my out of the city for any new additions, and four different duty free shops on my way back from each trip. All in all, I visited eleven book-selling outlets, bought a little over twenty books and I try hard not to think of how much money all this binge buying has cost me. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I regret it or anything, just that I don't want to have to lie when my wife asks me. Saying "I don't know, honey, I didn't keep track" is much easier than stating a number and having to live with the consequences. Although, for the record, I must state, my wife is very understanding. And I'm trying to get her hooked on books too!

     You might think all this is no problem. Many people who get the chance to travel do check out all the joints that sell whatever substance they are hooked on; clothes, electronics and in this case books. But the revealing thing is that in between these excursions, and although I told myself over and over that it was ok to do this when travelling because it was a one time opportunity, I still picked up another ten books from two bookstores and two yard sales. But don't fear for me, because the books at the yard sales were what are called a-dime-a-dozen, and they were in pretty good shape too so I couldn't just pass them by. They were calling out to me!

     Why am I telling you this? Because that's what addicts do, they share. Am I ashamed by any of this? Absolutely not. Money spent on books is always money well spent. Even if I buy books faster than I can read them (as any book addict or book hoarder would tell you), I will at least make sure that one day someone will and that means the books, and the money, were not wasted. Am I going to feed the habit again any time soon? Probably I will. Am I tired of all these rhetorical questions? YES I AM and I bet you are too, so I'll just stop.

     If you are a book addict, brother/sister, know you are not alone. And if you are not, leave your comments and tell us what you think. Also, please leave your donations (Likes) in the donations box so I can buy more books!

Oh, I forgot to say this at the beginning, My name is Mohammed, and I'm a book addict.