Book People

I decided to make this a separate post since it's only tangentially connected.

Dream program? Check. Dream city? Check. Now I just need to figure out how to make them a reality. I'm confident that I can make it work though. I've decided that I'm willing to put myself into a certain amount of debt to pursue my passion for books. I'm already in debt for college, what's a bit more to get me to a place where I can do something that I love?

So there we go. Yours Truly is moving to the Big Apple. And yes, I am aware that Step 1 is to never again call it the Big Apple. I am really excited about the prospect of living and working in New York, which is something I've wanted to do since I was a kid, but I also can't wait to be around fellow book lovers. 

As one of my friends said when I told her about all this, "you'll finally be with your people!" I told my mom about this exclamation and she laughed and agreed, but then said that wasn't I already with "my people" working at a publishing company? Sadly, no. A friend and I discussed this over drinks — in our chosen fields where so many English and literature majors flock, "our people" — the book dorks and grammarians — are a rarity. 


In a group of ESL teachers she mentioned reading Pride and Prejudice and was met with surprise and near-disdain. The counter in my office kitchen which for most is a place to drop off old books that were cluttering up the closet or to pick up a book that looks interesting was a magical fairy book counter for me, producing a number of books on my ever-growing to-be-read list. 


I went to the library the other day and returned 2 books. I checked out 5. I have at least 4 boxes of books I brought home from college sitting in a closet because we don't have any more shelf space in my house (yes, the fact that they're in the closet and not out in the open haunts me). It's a sickness, but one I wouldn't try to treat. 


I can't wait to move to New York, but I'm kind of dreading it at the same time. If I had to guess, I'd say at least 80% of my possessions are books. And books are heavy.


I suppose there could still be people who are not "my people" in the program. That's fine, you don't have to be a prolific reader to be my friend. But it would be nice if you'd help me carry my books.