Last time I said I was planning on reading The Book of Negroes and Fruit, and honestly I had every intention of reading them. But I haven’t. Not yet. I even have The Book of Negroes sitting on one of my book cases, all ready to be read.

So, what happened, you ask? Did I get too busy with work, no time to read? Or was I sick with some horrible disease and was too ill to read? Or maybe—oh horror—I decided I didn’t like reading anymore and took up knitting. Well, the reason The Book of Negroes has not been read yet is very simple: other books got in the way.

It happens to the most dedicated book addict out there. You hear about a great book and rush out to buy it. You set in on your book shelf with all of your best books and promise to start it tomorrow, once you finish your current read (because book addicts are always reading something).

The next day you go to your book case and grab your glorious book—only to realize that the one sitting next to it is calling out to you louder. You try to ignore it; after all, you had promised this book it was next in line. You may even re-read the book jacket to remind yourself of its wonderfulness. Heck, you may even start to read chapter one. But really, it’s no use. The other book has grabbed your attention and holds it with the promise not of a better read, but a story more suited to you in this moment of time.

This is what happened with The Book of Negroes. I still have every intention of reading it, once other books stop calling out to me, tempting me with their colors and characters. At some point in time I anticipate The Book of Negroes will grab my attention, coughing and saying, “Excuse me? Over here!” at which point I will greedily read it from beginning to end. But for now it stays on my shelf and every once in awhile I go over to it. Let it know that it hasn’t been forgotten.

I sometimes feel bad when I pick up a book and then don’t read it right away, but I can’t help it if I am an emotional reader. My moods dictate what I want to read and even favorite authors can be forgotten for a while if my emotions don’t feel like reading them.

Because of this strong connection between emotions and reading, I always have a slew of to-be-read books on hand at any given time. This way I can browse through my own personal bookstore, waiting for a book to be chosen to be read.

And sometimes the books surprise me and I end up reading a dark and somewhat depressing mystery when my own mood is a bit on the low side, when I thought for sure I would want to read a bright and airy chick lit novel. But other times, I will reach for a tongue in cheek YA (Young Adult) book to fight away mid-winter blues. There really is no rhyme or reason to it, but my mind and the books always seem to know what the best book is for me.

I never challenge my moods or the books and try to force myself to read something that my current frame of mind simply doesn’t want to tackle: doing this usually results in a few days of non-reading. It’s best for me to put the book down gently, promising that it won’t be long neglected. And, even if it is a few months, or even a year before I return to it, it’s still loved.

Related posts:

1. Behind the Pages
2. The Truths of Freelance Writing: Jammies and Beer Fridges