The Bespectacled Girl has tons of hobbies.
But the one she loves the most is reading.
Love is an understatement. She is slightly concerningly obsessed with reading.
She simply must bring reading into every activity she does.
Eating lunch? Read.
Waiting at the grocery store billing counter? Read.
Waiting for her friend to arrive at the café? Read.
Waiting for the washing machine to finish? Read.
Waiting for sleep to arrive? Definitely read.
She has trained herself so well in this skill that food refuses to go down her throat unless there is a book open in front of her.
Family members have tried their best to hold meaningful and important conversations with her over dinner. But she refuses to budge.
And now, they have long accepted that they have to compete for her attention with fictional detectives, mythical creatures, dragons, werewolves, and authors who have been dead for centuries.
The Bespectacled Girl never reads one book at a time, like sensible human beings do.
Three books is the bare minimum. Fewer than three feels almost illegal to her.
She is usually halfway through a murder mystery whose ending she claims to have already figured out, a few chapters into a heartwarming novel, and several pages through a non-fiction book about science, history, or geopolitics. Yeah, she has a very eclectic taste in books.
At the same time, she is almost always eyeing a newly released book that she wants to begin right away.
After completing three books.
And the thirty unread books waiting patiently for their turn.
Sometimes she wonders if she should attempt a world record for the maximum number of books read simultaneously by one slightly overenthusiastic human being.
She has casually browsed the world records website on multiple occasions. Purely for research.
She has a nightly ritual.
She changes into comfortable pyjamas. Fluffs up her pillows. Curls up inside her duvet. Opens her Kindle.
“Let me complete just this one chapter and call it a night,” she tells herself with complete sincerity.
Four pages later, our girl is fast asleep.
If someone from her family gently nudges her awake and suggests that she simply go to sleep, she immediately dismisses and protests.
“I wasn’t sleeping.”
Sometimes, she doesn’t need to be woken up.
She wakes up on her own, gives a few slow, thoughtful nods, and continues reading as if she had merely paused to contemplate the rich wisdom being imparted in the book.
The book, meanwhile, happens to be a murder mystery in which there is absolutely no sentence that could remotely impart life lessons, let alone give ideas to contemplate the meaning of life.
The Kindle chooses not to comment.
The Bespectacled Girl has another peculiar habit.
She discovers books she never wanted to read. She falls in love with the story and the characters.
She postpones reading the final few chapters because she does not want the book to end.
And yet, the moment the progress bar on her Kindle announces ‘83% completed’, she gets ridiculously excited.
“One more book to add to my I Have Read shelf.”
She wants the story to last forever.
She also wants the satisfaction of watching her reading challenge count go up by one.
What’s more interesting is that she has curated dozens of shelves on her reading app.
Instead of simply keeping straightforward titles like Read, Currently Reading, and To Read, she creates elaborate shelves with names that only make sense to her.
“Books That Have Animals On The Cover.”
“Books Written By Authors Who Are Engineers.”
“Books That Remind Me of My School Teacher.”
“Books I Bought Because The Cover Was A Pretty Shade of Green.”
“Books I Swear I Will Read Next Month.”
It is almost as though she is trying to convince complete strangers that she is an exceptionally interesting person with exceptionally interesting taste in books.
Whether anyone else ever sees them is beside the point.
And yet, every time she leaves home, even if it is for five minutes, one thing is always in her tote bag.
Not her house keys. Not her wallet. Not even her phone.
Her Kindle.
Because she would rather not experience the unimaginable horror of having absolutely nothing to read while waiting in a supermarket queue for three whole minutes.
The Kindle knows better.
More Adventures of The Bespectacled Girl
- The Bespectacled Girl and Her Overpacked Tote Bag (TBG #1)
- The Bespectacled Girl and Her Culinary Adventures (TBG #2)
- The Bespectacled Girl and Her Stationery Problem (TBG #3)
- The Bespectacled Girl and Her Clumsy Fingers (TBG #4)
Follow along as The Bespectacled Girl continues collecting stories, stationery, tote bags, and entirely avoidable problems.
Before you go…
If you’re looking for your next read, don’t forget to visit Books I Love, where I’ve gathered some of my favourite books and why they mean so much to me.
You can also find me on Instagram at @thesoulfulnib, where I share books, blog updates, and little moments from everyday life.
Until next time,
The Soulful Nib
The Soulful Nib 