Chocolate Ice Cream or "Like Water for Chocolate"?

Special K was here in NoCal for four blissful days this past weekend and at one point, he made a casual remark about how many books were in various stacks on and near my nightstand (probably two dozen), how many were neatly piled on the living room table (at least three or four more) and how many were on the side of my desk (another four or five)... not to mention the dozens and dozens of books that were snugly tucked away in their rightful places on actual bookshelves in various rooms.

I am a constant reader, so it's not unusual for me to have a few books on my nightstand at any given time, but even Special K knew that something was a little odd since I literally had books everywhere and in almost every room.

I hadn't thought about it before, but when he pointed it out, I blurted, "They make me feel good!"

And that's when I realized it... books are my comfort food.

Instead of gorging on mashed potatoes, chicken pot pie and ice cream during times of stress, I overindulge in paperbacks and hardcovers. I surround myself with novels, anthologies, short stories, non-fiction and even the odd play. You can actually gauge my current stress level by the number and height of the various book stacks around my house.

Amazon.com is my IHOP, Marie Calendar's and Denny's all rolled into one. Comfort food for the soul. (Although, thankfully, I usually pick better titles for consumption than the literary equivalents of the Rooty Tooty Fresh 'n Fruity.)

And it's not just that I pull books that I already own off the shelves and ponder those... No, I binge and buy MORE books. I click on a link online and the next thing I know, a box full of books shows up at my office (darn that one-click purchasing!). I walk into Costco with a list (and coupons for those listed items) and come out with another three books. I go to Target for staples and wind up with another couple of paperbacks in my cart.

So, there you go. I'm a binger. But the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem, right? I bet there's a book I could get about that ...