On books and reading

Quote from this book I 've just finished:

''The art of living is slowly dying, it's an intimate ritual because when we read we do it with all our heart and mind and so good readers are becoming more scarce by the day since a book is a mirror that offers us only what we carry inside us ''

Don't know whether I'm a great reader or not, but I've been reading ever since I can remember myself and that' s not a figure of speech, 'cause I started reading when I was barely three. Devouring books was , is my lifelong addiction and long before the internet days of easy copy and paste I've been collecting quotes from my favorite books and keeping them written on business cards stacked in my drawers like rare treasure, reading them often and adding more to the collection. To me a quote is the best that a book has to offer condensed in a couple of lines.

Anyway, I've noticed a pattern: whenever I feel on top of the world , I read self help books, spiritual stuff or books about my current interests. Whenever I'm going through a rough patch or need healing, it's always novels. Funny thing is , I can't cross from one kind to the other when I'm not in the right frame of mind, it's just impossible.

Since my mother's death 6 weeks ago it's been nothing but novels for me. They help me unwind, relax and get lost in them. But I've noticed I started craving for other kinds of books the last few days, so I guess I'm back in the charging phase of my life again. And that can only be good.

What is YOUR reading experience? Do tell