Booking Through Thursday

*Booking Through Thursday is a weekly meme that asks readers and bloggers a set of mostly bookish type questions. This week’s theme is Anticipation.

Do you still get excited about new books as you did when you were little? In general? New books in particular, like from a favorite author? Or do you look at all new, unread books with the same level of anticipation?

When I was little, I was almost as much of a voracious reader as I am now. Library and bookstore visits were always exciting and left me salivating over a new pile of books that I could dive into. That being said, I don’t actually remember feeling a delicious tingle of anticipation. Does that make sense? I was excited to read, but I took it so for granted. The Harry Potter series was the first series that I remember actually having to wait on as each book was published. And that changed everything.

Now, of course, I dive into each new book with the sense that it could change my life and/or become my new favorite. I look at my TBR pile in my home library and giddily anticipate the moment that I get to crack open the cover of a new novel. It almost physically hurts that I can’t read faster than I actually do, that I can’t read everything on my TBR list. The ache of anticipation is delicious and thrilling and sometimes depressing, all at once!

It’s even better when I am working my way through a series that I love. Or when I hear an announcement that a favorite author is publishing a new book! I think that’s probably one of the best feelings in the world, don’t you? I get so impatient for the book to be published, to dive back into the story and reconnect with my favorite characters. Or to discover a whole new world.

I’ve learned to never take a book for granted. Books are such a gift to my life, and I try to treat them accordingly. So I go into each new story with the anticipation that it deserves. I give it my best shot. Some books disappoint me, others become my best friends. But it’s only fair to give them all the same shot.

What do you think?