10 Signs Reading Has Taken Over Your Life

1. You actually have dreams about characters in the current book you’re reading.

Whether it is a love scene between you and whatever main-character hunk is in your current read, or a horrific bed-wetter involving a nasty clown named Pennywise trying to coerce you into the town’s sewer system, your nightly adventures usually feature a few familiar faces. Finally putting the book down to get some sleep doesn’t always mean you’re going to be without your favorite characters until morning.

2. Reality isn’t somewhere you want to be anymore.

I mean really, how many times do you have to do the same thing over and over before it gets insanely mundane? Books give you a chance to escape the boring normalcy of life, and believe me, you take every chance you can get.

3. More often than you’d like to admit, you play out scenarios in your head in which you are another character in the novel.

Come on, who wouldn’t want to fight He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named with Harry, Ron and Hermione? Granted, I would probably wet my pants if faced with half of the things they went through, but its fun to pretend!

4. You remove yourself from any get-togethers or plans being made in real life so you can stay home and read.

Family reunion? Bah, they’re nothing compared to the fictional family you have waiting for you at home. Hot date? Really, nothing beats lying in bed with Mr. Darcy at your fingertips. I repeat, NOTHING. (Hello, he makes more than 10,000 a year!)

5. You spend half your days walking around like a zombie because you just HAD to stay up and read “one more chapter.” Which, in the end turned out being the rest of the book.

Comments like, “You look tired.” and “Are you feeling all right?” become commonplace when you’ve been reading like a maniac. Friends and family begin to truly worry about your health, and sometimes you feel as though a psychotic episode may be imminent due to lack of sleep. But, alas, you continue to torture yourself night after night, as if the book would disappear if you put it down.

6. If someone talks bad about a book you’ve read, you act as though they have aimed a kick at your naughty parts (even if you don’t have said “naughty parts”).

Anyone who knows you should know better than to insult a book that you’ve read while in your presence. If they don’t know you, they will only make the mistake once, because after that, they will no longer be a part of your life. You don’t need that kind of negativity in your life, you just don’t.

7. Once you finish a book or series, you go into a period of mourning similar to that of losing a loved one.

After all, for the past how many days, these characters have been your family and friends. Who cares if their fictional? They still have feelings, and by god you know you love them more than anyone else possibly could. When they’re not waiting for you on your nightstand anymore, they take a little piece of your heart with them.

8. If you find someone who loves a book as much as you do, you instantly become the best of friends.

Even if they have a personality that compares to a dull knife, they enjoy a book you have spent hours obsessing over, and that’s enough for now. When you make a witty reference to your current novel obsession and they laugh or start sobbing uncontrollably, (depending on the context) you feel as though you have found your soul mate.

9. The people you come in contact with every day will never live up to your expectations.

They say Disney has given girls a high expectation for men. I say otherwise. I’m sorry, but no man will every bring me as much joy/sadness/mind-blowing sweetness as Augustus Waters did in the short 300-odd pages in which he stole my heart. You’ll find yourself comparing everyone you know to your favorite character of the moment, and they will ALWAYS fall short.

10. No matter how many books you read, you’ll never get sick of that feeling.

You know what I’m talking about. The feeling. When you start a book and get pulled into the story so quickly you forget that there’s anything else more important than continuing the story. When you cry when your favorite character cries, and feel an overwhelming sense of joy when things finally go their way. When you get to the last chapters and part of you wants to know everything and finish, but another part says, “Slow down, savor this, you’ll never be able to read it for the first time again.” If you know this feeling, consider yourself lucky, not everyone can say they do.