Since I’ve been a small girl, I have had an insatiable appetite for reading. My mother has the American Girl and Mandie series to thank for that. I read all the time, finishing whole books in mere days. My sister and I slept in the basement, so it was easy to stay undercover and read into the wee hours of the night. When I was in the 2nd grade my mom held a five dollar bill in front of my face and challenged me to complete the entire Little Women unabridged edition. I re-read it several more times after that.

There is a huge bookshelf in our dining room now that holds many of the childhood books that both Jacob and I hold dear. My prized copy of Tolstoy’s War and Peace sits proudly on the fiction shelf saying HEY YOU! YOU READ ME! YOU READ THE WHOLE THING! GO YOU!

The Internets is out to destroy books. Of this I am totally sure. The Kindle? Are you serious? I’m sorry, but I like holding a book in my hands and feeling the texture of the smooth cover and the soft, paper-y pages. I don’t care if it makes my bag heavy. I don’t care if my personal library takes over an entire room. They’re BOOKS FOR HEAVEN’S SAKE!

Unfortunately of late, I’ve been reading more blogs and Facebook statuses than books. It’s sad really. It made me so sad that I decided with the New Year would come a resolution to read more books. More REAL books.

Remember how my mom offered me five dollars to finish Little Women? Well, I need that kind of motivation to get started. Luckily, I found this resolution reward chart on Twitter. Little squares to stamp and mark off the calendar saying I’ve accomplished my goal? It’s just the motivation I need to read real books everyday.

I got a whole bunch of new books for Christmas, including a biography of Nureyev, and a collection of the best American short stories. I’ve also started reading a charming – and surprisingly full of depth – children’s series by Avi about a little mouse named Poppy. I am enchanted already.

I am excited to renew my love of reading and my hunger for it. All without the Internets.