Reading & Friendship {Love Story}
Written by ARWB February 2012 Blogger of the Month, Gina Knuppenburg of Desperately Seeking {Gina}.

I’ve been an avid reader for as long as I can remember.  My summers were spent with my nose buried in a book. While my real-life friends were outside playing, I was inside with my “book friends.”  My parents took us camping every June and while my brothers loaded the camper with fishing poles and rafts, I stacked piles of books to hold me over our week-long camping adventure.

In my late twenties, while I was busily preparing to move out of my childhood home, I had a difficult time deciding what to do with the many boxes of books I had accumulated over the years.  I had collected two series in particular that I had a hard time parting with:  Ann Martin’s The Babysitter’s Club and the Sweet Valley High series.  I know it seems silly now but I felt like I was parting with dear friends.  Ultimately, I decided to sell the books to a used book store for credit.  I said a quick good bye to my old friends and moved on.

Sometime last year I got a sudden urge to revisit some of those book friends.  I requested a copy from an online paper back swapping site that I am a member of and reacquainted myself with those childhood friends. They hadn’t changed a bit!

Last week I came across a complete set of Sweet Valley High series in a thrift shop.  I have to admit that for a moment, I contemplated buying the whole lot.  I settled for reading a few chapters there at the dimly lit, dusty store.  It was a quick visit and I left with a smile {I also read a few chapters of later books that hadn’t been in my collection}.  I also left wondering where my own books had gone to.  Had they found new homes?   Did their new owners look at my loopy signature inside the front cover of each of those books and wonder who and where I was?

I think that my love of reading is directly related to my love of blog reading and why I appreciate this forum as much as I do.  ARWB has introduced me to so many new friends: friends I haven’t met {a lot of you!} and some that I have been lucky to meet in person.

As February comes to a close, I want to thank ARWB for inviting me to be a part of this community.  And, I’d like to thank those of you who stopped by to comment.  I appreciate your clicks over to my blog to say hi as well.  Your friendship online and off has kept me company, entertained me, and has made me feel welcomed here in Arkansas.

Happy reading, friends!

You can learn more about Gina by reading her blog Desperately Seeking {Gina} or by checking out her Blogger of the Month Page.