People who know me, whether in real life or virtually, know I love books. If they don’t know, then they don’t know me or haven’t been paying attention.

First, I read books. I know that seems obvious, but I’ve been told I read a lot. Really, I didn’t think 97 books last year was *that* many (my best year in the last 6 was 124 books, a record I still aim to beat). This especially seems average when I consider that some of my Goodread friends read 200 or even 300+ books a year.

And then I read this article that said if I spent less time on social media, I could read 200 books a year. Then again, I’m ahead of the curve based on this 2015 article that found the average number of books read in 2014 was 12.

So apparently, I am somewhere between book-reading slacker who’s missing my full book-reading potential because I watch Netflix and spend too much time on social media and booknerd superstar reading 7 times as many books as the average.

Anyway, I digress (if you haven’t already notice in this blog, I do that a lot, hence the “wandering”).

Second, I nearly always have a book in my hand. In fact, I often have to explain to people how I can walk and read at the same time. [The answer, by the way, is practice. I’ve been doing it since middle school.] Then I always carry 1 or 2 extra in my bag. I also have at least have 1 book (or more) within arm’s reach—if I’m at home, there are several dozen within arm’s reach, as books cover almost every surface, including the floor, of every room. Although I’ve recently purged some (see what books I have to trade on my PaperbackSwap bookshelf).

Third, I talk about books—whether debating them in book club, discussing them with friends, leaving reviews on them, quoting them . . . I love quotes. [And bonus points if you can name the books!]

This must be Thursday . . . I could never get the hang of Thursdays.

There was a star danced, and under that was I born.

I give myself very good advice, but I very seldom follow it.

Fourth, I purchase (probably too much) booknerd apparel and merchandise. I have tees, sweatshirts, socks, tote bags, pouches, mugs, trinkets, knick-knacks, and matchbooks that are all literary-themed. I think my “Don’t Panic” socks may be my fave. Then again, I do love my Le Petit Prince sweatshirt. And don’t forget my War of the Worlds tee or my Sherlock sweatshirt or my Winnie-the-Pooh book charm or . . .

[This may be too difficult to chose just 1 fave, but the literary socks (I have more than 1 pair) are really fun.]

My mother says I missed my calling as a librarian. She’s probably right.

But the point of the above is to demonstrate my great love of books. (It physically hurts me when people tell me they don’t like to read. I don’t care if it’s audiobooks, e-books, comic books, the newspaper, as long as you read.) And this is why asking me to name my favorite book is a nearly impossible conversation. At the minimum, it will be a lengthy conversation that will require a pot of tea. Here’s why:

My “favorite” book depends on a number of factors, including (but not limited to) the genre, the season, the month, the time of day, the weather, my mood, where my towel is, and whether or not I’ve had a proper cup of tea. Even then, I will probably give you a list of at least 5 to 6 books (probably closer to a dozen) and immediately send you off to your local bookstore (indie bookstores rock!) to buy at least 2 of these books for their life-changing and/or humorous properties.

As for me, I read a bit of everything: non-fiction, plays, academic textbooks, self-help, religion, literature, crime, biographies, history, poetry, etc. Some of the books that are always on top of my must-read list include Let’s Pretend This Never Happened, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Belgariad Series, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Pride & Prejudice, Lamb, The Tao of Pooh, the Iron Druid series, Gone with the Wind, A Light in the Attic, American Gods, A Prayer for Owen Meany, Much Ado About Nothing, Walden, Mary Poppins, Garden Spells, Dracula, Written in Red, The Veil, Lost Horizon, The Book of Lost Things, Stolen Things, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, [this could go on for a while, so I’ll just say and many, many more].

And that is why you shouldn’t ask me what my favorite book is.