Hard or soft cover?

Meeting new people is like reading books.

I don't often get to read books anymore (I'm being literal here (har har), I'm not referring to meeting people). I have a very long, expansive reading list for the summer that includes "Water for Elephants" and a bunch of inspirational running books, the True Blood, Walking Dead and Dexter series, etc. It'll be a welcome break from scientific papers and lecture notes and powerpoints.

Anyway, meeting new people is like reading books.

Whenever I get a new book, I love to smell the pages and crack the spine (don't think dirty, this is about real books now). There are certain types of paper that smell reallllly good, and other kinds that are kind of dusty and dry smelling. Usually the books with shiny/glossy paper that makes a sound when you flip it with your fingers smells particularly good. Sometimes I'll just flip through the pages from front to back and inhale the smell that wafts out.

I'm in a weird mood.

Whenever I start a book, it's always difficult to get into it unless it starts with something truly eye-catching, like describing a murder scene or a sexual encounter. Certain people are like that- they open up with a phrase completely out of the blue that catches you off guard. I prefer that kind of introduction. It keeps things interesting.

Other books start slow, and ease you into the storyline with a description of the main character. The "Golden Compass" started that way for me. I ended up putting it down about a 1/4 of the way through.

Whenever I start a book, no matter which one, I don't feel the immediate need to pick it up again. I could leave it for a few days, face down on my desk, open to the last page I looked at. The action hasn't really picked up. People are like that. At first, you could take them or leave them. They're intriguing, but your life hasn't changed. They haven't left their mark yet.

But then comes the middle of the book.

Once you've passed that awkward stage of new reading, you start to really open up. The pages fly by. The story line unfolds and the character is familiar. You want to keep reading, and it takes such little effort. It's not just "the book I just picked up" anymore. Now it's something that you take with you to the gym, or in your car, to a doctor's appointment, or wherever you think you might be bored for a little bit. You'll shoot a random (possibly drunk) text. You'll notice things while you're walking around that remind you of the story.

Sometimes the story is a novella. Sometimes its "The Once and Future King."

And then you get towards the end. You can sense things changing, you can feel the decreasing number of pages in your right hand. Things are winding up.

And on the final page, the ending is either completely satisfactory, leaves much to be desired, or leaves you wanting more. Those storylines are the ones that really leave their mark.

Sometimes the author decides to write another one (Harry Potter is the world's longest on and off again relationship).

Sometimes you decide never to read that genre again.

Whatever the case, you'll eventually go to pick up the next book. You'll strut into Barnes and Noble with the giftcard your friend gave you and look for the shiniest cover.

And it starts all over.