BOOK ADDICTION

“Just finished another one!” I said as I closed the cover of my book, tossed it next to me on the couch, and reached over to grab my cup of tea.

“What was this one about?” my son Alex asked.

“Oh, you know, another family drama where everyone is battling each other but in the end they realize they love one another and it all works out.” I explained as I took a sip of my tea.

“Okay.” Alex starts to laugh. “Sounds like it was a great book.”

I put my cup down on the coffee table. “Did you know that in the 1800’s it was considered

unhealthy to read?”

“Really?” Alex sat down on the couch and picked up the book I’d just put down, flipping it over to read the back cover. “Why?”

“Doctors claimed reading caused ‘hysteria’ and nervous breakdowns in women.” I looked over at him raising my eyebrows. “They also said that reading caused brain activity that would divert blood flow away from the womb so you’d hurt the baby if you were pregnant!” I couldn’t help but laugh. “They also claimed that woman who read would abandon their housework and childcare.”

Alex started laughed. “You’re kidding, right?”

“Nope.” I held up one hand in the air and the other over my heart. “Totally swear. That’s what they thought.”

“Sounds like they really didn’t want women reading back then.” Alex said as he tossed the book back on the couch.

“They only wanted men reading what they thought of as serious books like history, law and science. But they didn’t want them reading novels either because they thought it would affect their ability to work.”

Alex looked confused. “How’s that suppose to stop them from working?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “I guess they thought reading novels would make them lose track of time and they’d forget to go to work.”

Alex shook his head. “It’s kind of what they say about computer games now.”

“Well…” Now it was time for me to question that analogy.

Alex held up his hand. “Hear me out.” He said. “If some guy reads a fictional story for two hours it’s considered ‘higher education’ but have him play video games for the same amount of time and he’s addicted!”

“But people can get caught up in video games and spend the entire day playing!” I argued.

Alex looked at his watch. “As opposed to you reading for the last two hours?”

“It’s different.” I argued.

Just then my husband Steven came into the room. “Hey, what’s for dinner?” He asked as he was passing through the room.

I looked at my watch and saw that it was already dinner time and I hadn’t even started it yet. “Well…”

Alex held up my book, a smile on his face. “Well?” He asked.

“It’s not an addiction!” I cried. “I can stop anytime I want!”

Steven looked confused. “What are you guys talking about?”

“Nothing.” I sighed as I got up from the couch. “I’m starting dinner right now.”