Just call her Dabby White.

by Andrea Grigg I was the child who read under the bedclothes with a torch. The one reprimanded for attempting to read at the dinner table. The one who ALWAYS took a book to the bathroom … and I still do! Yes, I love reading. I would even go so far as to say I’m obsessed with it (I guess that’s the addict part) and I know I’m not alone. Last week I put this question to a Facebook group I belong to as well as on my personal page. ‘What behaviours has your significant other/family put up with when you’ve got your head in a book? Some were hilarious! Here are just a few. * I have a Kindle because it's easier to cook one handed when you're reading from it rather than a book. You can turn the page with the press of a button. * Starting to read at 8 pm 'for an hour' and then realising that it has somehow become 3 am * My husband is also a reader and we respect it in the other. When we first got together we would have weekends away on the sofa and whoever could break away from their book would need to go get takeaway. Luckily we are not usually addicted at the same time * Audio books, sitting in the car park at work, waiting to hear the end of the chapter, or in the driveway at home. * Struggling to pull out of the book to function in everyday life, and referring to characters and story lines in everyday conversation with people who don't have a clue what I am talking about. * Laughing out loud while reading.... then having the kids or hubby ask what's funny... On the other hand, they never ask me why I'm crying while reading... * So engrossed in a book that I forget I've got dinner cooking - until that burning smell eventually registers. * I am reading on a Kindle now so I can cook whilst reading. I even read whilst on the treadmill. Reading late into the wee hours and waking up grumpy. And best of all, if I fall asleep reading in bed I don’t lose my page any more! * Hubby: "Where are the children dear?" Me:"We have children? * Apart from NOTHING getting done, I take on the mood of the book, happy, sad, anxious, romantic (enough said), angry, etc and watch out family if it's not going in the direction I think it should! * Kids turning into prunes in the bath while I sit on a stool. "Can we get out now?" "Not yet. One more page…" * Sometimes I burst out laughing at something I've read and everyone wants to know what's so funny, but I just kind of wave my hand in the air and say, 'I'll tell you later', because I'm too absorbed in the book and don't want to take the time to explain There were a few of these … * I hide in the loo and read so I don't get caught! * Everyone thinks I have a problem because I'm in the bathroom too long! Lol! Two classics to finish with: * My Mother was not a reader and just could not understand how I could lose myself in a book so deeply I was completely unaware of what was happening around me - to the extent that the house almost burnt down one night! I was sitting up reading after everyone else had gone to bed. We had an open fire in those days and all of a sudden my Mother rushed in and screamed at me - an ember had popped out of the fire onto a cushion and it was on fire! LOL.. I hadn't even smelled it... * As a child I sat up in the pine tree with a book in the summer- and wasn't aware of the sap dripping on to my long hair. I had to have all my hair cut off because we couldn't get the pine sap out. I still read with the same lack of awareness of what is going on around me- 50 years later! Yep – we’re obsessed! And I think this image about sums it up … So! Anyone got a ‘head-in-a-book’ anecdote they can share? Or a quote about reading? I’ve got a Pinterest board full of them. You can view them here: http://www.pinterest.com/andreagrigg/books-books-more-books/ Until next time, happy reading! Andrea Grigg lives on the Gold Coast, Queensland, and is a writer of contemporary Christian romance. Her first book, ‘A Simple Mistake’ was a finalist in the 2012 CALEB awards. Her second novel, ‘Too Pretty’ was released in August this year. Website: www.andreagrigg.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/author.andreagrigg?ref=hl Twitter: @andreagrigg