day 11: something people compliment you on the most.

compliments are not things i handle well. i never know what to say. the most common one when i would go to a bar is what nice eyes i have. my eyes are up here, buddy. most random, a guy once told me i have very pretty eyebrows. hm. i think he might have been gay. i get compliments on my tattoos. however, the compliments i hear most often are book/reading related. granted, i work in a bookstore. the newest robert jordan wheel of time book came out nov. 2nd. it is over 800 pages long. a couple days later i was done. "how on earth did you finish so fast?" i just couldn't stop reading! reading quickly doesn't feel like an accomplishment to me. it doesn't mean i'm smarter. at work, someone tells me they're looking for a certain book. i say, "oh, by blah-blah-blah. that's in classics, aisle 8." they say, "do you know every book in here? how do you remember that?" i remember because i answer the same questions a million times a day. alright, i do know alot about literature. it's just what i love. i really really really love books. all kinds. in a week, you may spot me reading the bfg (by roald dahl, the same guy who wrote charlie & the chocolate factory), a random book about theology, a huge geeky fantasy novel, pride & prejudice (jane austen), the brothers karamazov ( by dostoevsky), then bring it back around with some sleuthing with nancy drew (many authors, using the pseudonym carolyn keene.) i know literature because i bury myself in it. to me, it is the greatest adventure. also (because i've read fahrenheit 451 too many times) my way of exposing myself to ideas. i want to know i came to my beliefs on my own steam, and didn't have them fed to me by the tv, the internet, or the party line. i truly believe that when (notice i didn't say if) we release control of the written word to government or corporations, we will be relinquishing control of our very minds. reading is important to me because autonomy is important to me.

also, it's a free vacation to places like hogwarts, middle earth, and narnia.
so, if you have ever complimented me on my reading skills or my book knowledge, thank you. i don't feel like it's a talent of any kind. but thank you, anyway.