Hello world!

Later on I'll elaborate a bit on who I am  and what I think, but for now I'll just talk briefly about reading, friends and books.

I've always had a definite fascination with the printed word and spent far too much of  my formative years reading a wide variety of genres. This fixation has been a constant feature right throughout my life, although it does ebb and flow a bit. Books, papers, online articles, blog posts... I am a voracious reader and love to learn new words (and how to use them properly.... I usually succeed).

Trumping my love of the written word is my strong and enduring interest in people. I greatly enjoy learning about their personalities, idiosyncrasies, likes, dislikes, origins, current activities and all the minutiae that we carry around with us. Do you think that perhaps people can be compared to books in some ways? They both have a front cover that's carefully constructed for general consumption, contents of varying varieties and differing quality as well as an appendix - unless they've had it removed. Meeting new people is like picking up a book - the cover catches your eye so you decide to have a look. You flick through the pages at random at first, just have a quick glance at whatever happens to be there. Then perhaps you go to the contents page and take a more methodical approach. Ask your friends if they've read it or even do some internet research. If it looks to be engaging, entertaining or just interesting you either make a note of the title for later purchase, check if the library has it, order it online or if you really can't wait visit a local bookshop the same day.

Old favourite friends are like old favourite books too, you keep them close by on a shelf and relish having another read of your favourite passages on different occasions. If you're feeling generous you might loan it to a friend who might find it a good match. With both books and friends - it's probably impossible to have too many.