I AM AN ADDICT

Hi, I’m Sundy DeGooyer, and I am an addict. I am addicted to reading. 

You know you’re an addict when you say, “only one more chapter,” and then that one chapter, a five-minute read, turns into six hours and a completed book.

Did you know that according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average American now reads only 19 minutes per day. I read A LOT more than that per day.

You know you’re an addict when money is tight, but purchasing a book is a necessity.

My husband and I are on a tight budget right now, but Brandon Sanderson’s secret books were announced to come out this year, and I HAD to pre-order them. He is our favorite author after all.

You know you’re an addict when you take a book with you everywhere you go, just in case.

Waiting in the doctor’s office takes an average of 19 minutes and 16 seconds according to Vital’s annual “Physician Wait Time Report.” In 19 minutes I can read approximately 3 chapters in any book. It just makes sense that I should always keep one with me.

You know you’re an addict when your suitcase is filled with 5-10 unread books that you hope to read on vacation.

Much to the chagrin of my husband, I always have to check a bag just for my reading material.

And you know you’re an addict when people depend on you for their book recommendations.

That is why I created a personal book canon.

You may ask, “What’s a book canon?”  Well, let me tell you! 

A literary canon is a group of books that are considered important for a particular time, period, or place. For example, there can be a canon composed of religious books or a canon of works from a particular country or region.

I first learned about book canons from my father. I remember my dad’s office in our basement had a whole wall covered with bookshelves and books. Whenever I finished reading a book, I would ask dad what I should read next. He would take me downstairs to the book wall. It was a magical wall full of stories and imagination. I was always excited to see what book he would recommend next.

Dad’s bookshelves were full of classics, sci-fi, fantasy, westerns, murder mysteries, biographies, and every other genre a girl could imagine. I never knew which book he would choose for me, but he always introduced me to great authors and important ideas. Later when I asked him about his book wall, he explained that all the publications were books he truly loved. They were essentially a list of works that were important to him.  He never had to worry about recommending any of the books from the wall.

As I grew older, I wanted to create my own personal collection of books. And many of the books in my personal canon came because my father recommended them. My canon is comprised of books that have changed my life in some way. 

The process of building my book list was both delightful and difficult. I spent hours pulling books from shelves, rearranging them, talking to my book buddies, re-reading many, and arguing with myself about their lasting values. In the end, I chose a wide range of genres and styles, like my dad, that helped me become the person I am.

The best part of having a book canon is getting to share it. Discussing and learning from others, who have read the same book, is an extremely rewarding activity. I wish more people would create their own book canons, so I could share in their knowledge and preferences too.

Yes, I am a book addict. And, they say, that the first step to overcoming an addiction is admitting you have an addiction. The question is, do I really want to be cured? My answer: ABSOLUTELY NOT!

At least that’s the way that I remember it.

 

Here’s my book cannon as of 2-10-24.  I’ve listed the books in alphabetical order.

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
The Chosen by Chaim Potok
The Chronicles of Narnia (series) by C.S. Lewis
Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury
Dawn of Wonder by Jonathan Renshaw
Dragon Watch (series) by Brandon Mull
Elantris by Brandon Sanderson
The Emperor’s Soul by Brandon Sanderson
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
Fablehaven (series) by Brandon Mull
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
The Giver by Lois Lowry
The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Harry Potter (series) by JK Rowling
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom
Holes by Louis Sachar
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
The Hunger Games (series) by Suzanne Collins
Remembering Isaac (series) by Ben Behunin
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
The Kingdom and the Crown (series) by Gerald N. Lund
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The Last Year of the War by Susan Meissner
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
The Lincoln Hypothesis by Tim Ballard
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Live Not By Lies by Rod Dreher
The Lord of the Rings (series) by J.R.R. Tolkien
Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Major Decisions: Taking Charge of Your College Education by Henry J. Eyring
Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day by Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky
My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok
My Name is Malala by Malala
The Orphan Keeper by Cameron Wright
The Poet’s Corner by John Lithgow
The Rent Collector by Cameron Wright
The Riyria Chronicles (series) by Michael J. Sullivan
Saved Through His Grace by Brad Wilcox
The Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis
The Seamstress by Sara Tuvel Bernstein
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
Stone Tables by Orson Scott Card
Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
The Walking Man by Gary McCallister
The Stormlight Archive (series) by Brandon Sanderson
Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
Women of Genesis (series) by Orson Scott Card
The Work and the Glory (series) by Gerald N. Lund
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle