Is this normal?

I know many women who have some type of shopping addiction. Several of my friends cannot live without their dozens of pairs of shoes. A lot of women just love to shop for anything. Period.

I am not like those women. I don't really like to shop - I mean, I enjoy buying a cute pair of shoes, or a cute new purse, or a pair of jeans that make my ass look really great. I do. But, the whole idea of just going shopping for no apparent reason....I mean, why? Retail therapy? Pshh...it's all sort of weird to me.

I do have a shopping addiction though. I'm not proud of it. But get me within a five mile radius of a Barnes & Noble or any kind of book selling establishment, I lose all control. It doesn't matter that I have a shelf's worth of unread literature. I cannot resist. I become intoxicated by the new book smell, the endless shelves of books - fiction, nonfiction and everything in between. I know that I could just as easily go to the library and read the same books for FREE. I could save hundreds of dollars and still get the same type of intellectual stimulation.

But the book wouldn't be MINE. I wouldn't be able to read it whenever I wanted [or not read it whenever I wanted] and it wouldn't take up another perfect space on my book shelf.

Ok, this probably sounds somewhat mental. I KNOW. But I can't help it!

Today, I went and deposited my paycheck. And then, to celebrate, I went and bought about $75 of books.

Exhibit A:



Granted, one is a cookbook. But still. And one is a book of essays to help inspire me to write my entry into the Writers' Digest annual competition.

STILL.

[NOTE: Yes, that is a teddy bear on the right side of the picture. MY teddy bear, Seymore. I have had him since birth. I will never, ever give him up. He is the only consistent being in my life.]

Anyway. I guess I just have to accept that I am addicted to owning books. Well, books in general, but specifically owning them. I guess there are worse addictions. Crack, for example.

By the way.



Dyed my hair last week. It is way dark, but apparently the closest color to my roots. Which means, I might actually NATURALLY have dark brown hair. Who knew?