True Power?

A look at my bookshelves will demonstrate an ever alarming pattern. My life has become consumed by books. I will it appears read anything be it family saga stories of the Barbara Taylor Bradford genisis or the exquisite crime thrillers of the late, great Steig Larrson. This totally excluding the ever growing pile of political biographies and treatise. Since Christmas I have bought close to sixty books. 

A work colleague suggests there is something lacking from my life that has driven me to this reading frenzy, his words "When you retire you will have enough time to read." I am 23, retirement is a long way off. My career has yet to begin. But is this a fair criticism, is it possible my obsession with the written word has gone too far? Or is reading not something that should be enjoyed by the masses? Not something that should be encouraged, surpassing all other media? 

Abraham Lincoln once said

“The things I want to know are in books; my best friend is the man who'll get me a book I ain't read." This ladies and gentleman is my life.

Since the beginning of 2011 I have read dozens of books including to name a few;

Portia di Rossi: Unbearable Lightness

Patricia Cornwell: Port Mortuary

Ted Kennedy: True Compass

Alice Walker: The Color Purple

George RR Martin: Game of Thrones

Curtis Sittenfeld: Prep

Harper Lee: To Kill a Mockingbird

Mark Halperin & John Heilemann: Race of a Lifetime.

Portia di Rossi's story not only inspired but made me laugh and made me cry. I do not and probably will never have the words to describe how grateful I am to her for what she has published  While Dr. Kay Scarpetta, the ever phenomenal heroine of Cornwell's crime novels allowed me to live out my crime-fighting fantasies from the safety of my own bed, or rather a seat on the bus or dart. Race of a Lifetime was a lucky find and a must read for any obsessed by American politics. It led me to both worship and question my political heroes. These books all improved my life, and also improved my vocabulary, (though this may also be down to a lost thesaurus found in work,coupled with the boredom of a retail job. A story which not only demonstrates how much of a nerd I really am, but one that deserves a blog all for itself) a happy coincidence when facing professional exams.

The late Senator Kennedy's autobiography was heartfelt and honest in a way few political biographies are. The man is one of few that given access to a time machine I would insist on going back in time to meet. As a self confessed Kennedy family groupie I have read close to a dozen books on America's very own royalty, but few of these has touched me the way Ted Kennedy's did.

Sittenfeld and Lee were my recent companions on my first solo trans-atlantic flight and their company will be something I cherish. Having read Sittenfeld's An American Wife and adored it I had great hopes for Prep, ans those hopes were most certainly fulfilled.  While I finally understand why Harper Lee's Mockingbird is considered a literary classic, the fact I am reading my younger sisters heavily used Junior Cert copy makes it even more special. There is nothing quite like reading a well loved book.

Since arriving in DC a month ago I have already bought five books and a bookshelf is essential in any apartment I move to. There is something intrigued about a well stocked book-shelf and it is almost a reflection of the owners personality a window into their very being.

Anthony J. D'Angelo once said, "True power is held by the person who possesses the largest bookshelf, not gun cabinet or wallet." In that light as I continue my big DC adventure may my bookshelf be ever expanding.