Books books and more books

Are books and reading addictive? I'm sure they are. The only time in my life when I didn't read very much was the 4 years from 1996 to 2000 when I used to spend a lot of time doing cross stitch instead - but even then I used to read embroidery magazines, use the Internet and read the occasional book. Since 2000 I've gone back to reading - helped by the fact that for 5 years I was working away from home and had a great deal of time to read in hotels in the evenings.

Now I have even more time to read which I am really enjoying. I've never understood why some people think it's sad to read and you really should get out more. I think that's something people have said to me from when I first learnt to read! I always used to take out the maximum number of books from the library even as a child. When I was about 11 or 12 we lived about 5 minutes walk from the library and in school holidays I used to walk there nearly every day to get out my maximum of two books.

Then when I was in my late teens I can remember reading my way through the whole of Agatha Christie one summer holiday. I would call in at the library when it opened and then spend the day on the beach at the north end of Lowestoft among the sand dunes. Bliss!