5 downsides of being a bookworm

I know what you’re thinking. Why the hell has Jazz placed the words ‘downsides’ and ‘bookworm’ in the same sentence? It’s akin to a sentence containing the words ‘apocalypse’ and ‘wonderful’, or ‘green tea’ and ‘delicious’. It just doesn’t make any sense as a sentence. It’s garbled nonsense or, some might say, a book lover’s version of blasphemy…but hear me out before you hastily hit the back button or the deadly ‘X’ of page annihilation. Read the below list and try telling me you don’t agree. Go on, I dare ya (oh dear, I shouldn’t tempt fate like that, should I? That’s gonna come back to bite me in the ass).

1. Devouring a series and having to wait months (and, in extreme cases, a year or more) for the next book. When a book has ended on a cliffhanger, it actually causes me physical pain pondering what could possibly happen next in the series.

What I feel authors are saying to me

2. Having to work. If I know a dramatic or tense scene is coming up, I flat out refuse to read before work. Why? Because it’s pretty difficult to make small talk with guests or to serve the correct drinks at the bar when my mind is very much elsewhere, lost in some fictional world as it mourns a character’s death or berates another’s stupidity. Eugh. How perfect would it be to stay home and read all day? Or, better yet, to have a bookish job? Like being a librarian or a bookseller. I know a few bloggers I follow are librarians. Please, I implore you, share your secret. How did you bag such an awesome job?

Me at work while contemplating the many routes a plot could take

3. Never having enough shelf space. Unless I ditch my bed or closet, I actually do not have any space for more shelves. Hmm. In the movie adaptation of V for Vendetta (you should also check out the graphic novel too!), V’s bedroom is literally just floor-to-ceiling piles of books. Perhaps I should use V for Vendetta as interior design inspiration…

*heavy breathing*

4. The price of books. Okay, I get this isn’t an issue for everybody, but I currently only work part time and consequently, my bank card isn’t exactly oozing money. I do buy books from bookstores but it gets a bit expensive sometimes, especially if the book is a hardback and has only just been released. I fully appreciate that the money generated by book sales puts food on an author’s table and clothes on their back, but I would struggle to fund my book addiction if it wasn’t for my Kindle, the numerous second hand stores in town and Amazon.

5. Needing to sleep. I read mostly at night and I hate that moment when I feel fatigue encroaching upon my mind. The telltale dipping of the head and drooping of the eyelids or, if I’m lying in bed, the dropping of a book on my face are all symptoms I despise. Just let me finish the chapter dammit. 

I wish I was this cute.

Do you have any points to add to the list? Let me know in the comments!