Reading Addiction, TV, A Great Link

I was chatting with a friend today and she asked me if I ever thought reading could become an unhealthy addiction. It's an interesting question, and certainly one I've considered. I don't think reading itself has ever been an addiction for me. I love to read, but I have a certain level of tolerance for it. I couldn't read all the time, I enjoy doing many other things. At the same point in time, I also can't imagine a life without reading. It's something I've never been able to explain to people who have lived their lives without enjoying reading (and I've known many due to my work) but it's a way of life. A reader finds time to read. Even if it's very little during extraordinarily busy times.

Anyway, I suppose that reading could become an addiction. It can be a way to escape the realities of life and lose yourself in a story. But I don't think it's ever actually worked for me. I might think I'm reading to escape, but I have all too often been confronted with uncomfortable truths about my own life in stories that were seemingly innocuous. It's one of the best things about reading but also what makes it dangerous, you never know when your perspective will be altered or dramatically shift through a story, a line of dialogue, a surprising turn of phrase. I've read books and had the ideas stick in my mind long after I forget much else about the plot. And the thing is as long as you open yourself up to a certain extent, it's impossible to predict which books will teach you the most about yourself and this world. (fwiw, I've had this same thing happen with TV shows, too) It does make me curious, though, do you read to understand yourself and the world or just for escapism? Does that attitude you take towards reading affect its potential impact?

ETA: Obviously reading can serve different functions in your life and I didn't mean to suggest that if you read to escape that's somehow wrong or that you might sometimes read to escape and sometimes read to think about new things or whatever. All I meant to say is that for me it is not a guaranteed escape and that's part of why I like books, but also find reading somewhat dangerous. Also...I don't think reading to escape=addiction! Sorry for being confusing.

So while I don't think I've ever been addicted to reading, I've definitely been addicted to book acquisition and blogging (though obviously not lately).

TVD

It's really weird, but I have nothing much to say about the episode. I enjoyed it. It surprised me in some ways. I appreciate that I now understand how the season has come together. I feel like this season was so bad because it was basically one big information/history dump for these final episodes. I'm slightly hopeful they are setting up a more interesting story for next season. I still think Elena will become a vampire. I have no idea where the show goes from there, but they are setting it up differently (and perhaps in a better way) than I thought they would. I think Bonnie will probably go dark. (btw if Elena dies in that car accident with Matt--as it appears from the promo--that scene where she said good-bye to her normal life on the bridge takes on so much more significance) Mostly I'm ready for season 4.

Gossip Girl (lol)

I just have to bring up that Bart being alive, that moment when Chuck opens the door and Bart is like..."Oh my god." is television gold. And I don't mean that in a good way, I mean it in a, "this is possibly the worst thing I have ever seen on TV" way. The past three seasons Chuck has moaned about his dead daddy and done awful things to people in the name of that crushing Bass pain and burden and now suddenly Bart has been alive all along. Which, I guess, was the only way to resurrect the daddy issues since they were mostly put to rest last season. Seriously, though, this show has just grown so hilarious to me, I can't wait to see what completely absurd thing they will do next.

Link of Importance

Jessica of Read React Review's post on the plagiarism stuff awhile back is well worth reading. I appreciate everything she says about it, but in particular her third point on women and moral autonomy.

Have a great weekend everyone!