Today I finally paid a visit to old Doc, whom Toni has been reminding me about for weeks now. Doc's is a book exchange, packed to the gills with everything from vintage LDS literature to trashy romance novels which I'm glad I'm too prude to peek into, and lots and lots of in between. I have learned something about myself recently: I am a book snob. I love love LOVE to read, and if necessary, I'll devour whatever is placed in front of me without discression. However, given the choice, I would rather read for education than pleasure, not to say that the two are mutually exclusive. On the contrary, I have been deeply enriched by the most entertaining books. I really want to be well-read though. That is my goal because I love being able to discuss books and the more books you've read, the more people you'll find to discuss with, so my plan of attack is of course to start with classics. I already have many of these under my belt, as I have a mother so dedicated to my development of knowledge that she read to us aloud books that I never would have endeavored to tackle on my own at the tender ages of eight or ten. Finding out what was inside the covers of Uncle Tom's Cabin, The Trapp Family Singers, and many other daunting volumes gave me the courage later to venture into stories like Gone With the Wind, Great Expectations, and The Grapes of Wrath. Lately, I've been a little more purposeful about reading books from different eras and viewpoints, but for the most part, if it's on the Classics shelf, I'll buy it. That being said, I do enjoy a guilty pleasure now and then, so I'll admit to having read the Twilight Series, The DaVinci Code, and even some Nicholas Sparks. I am so grateful to my mom for not only putting many patient hours into teaching me to read at a young age, but instilling in me a love of books that will be with me for the rest of my life. You know what they say, "if you can read, you can learn." No I said that. Cause I'm pretty much a genius. (And a narcissist.)