The 'F' Word

It's controversial. It's derogatory. It's almost-but-not-quite work safe.

It's the 'f' word.

And I have no compunctions whatsoever using it to describe myself.

All right, folks: the word of the day is "fan".

No, I do NOT mean "the blower" (although I'll admit to a passing acquaintance with a handful of individuals who would fit both descriptions quite nicely), I mean "the enthusiast"!

Now, I'm not denying my lack of reluctance to apply the said (hash)tag to my person probably stems from age-related confidence (it's not like I'm in danger of being designated a fangirl at the ripe age of 33... Hell, I could probably use the ego boost, too!), but the fact remains that 'yours truly' is fanatical... about books.

I love them. I love everything about them: the architectural plans, the construction, the façades... I even love the urban reconstruction planning that inevitably follows the purchase (have you ever tried to fit two generations' worth of paperback purchases into a 172 sq. ft. room? no?! holy typeface, you have no idea what you're missing!).

From the ultimately heroic (if slightly self-destructive) act that is writing/editing, through the noble quest for the cover design, down to the arcane magic of paper grade choice, I'm hard pressed to name a single aspect of immortalizing the written word that doesn't make me want to squee like a twelwe-year-old on a Twilight premiere.

I love the blasted things, shoddy big-name endorsements and all!

Blame my late grandfather; he was in the business when I was growing up...

I'm one of those annoying people that will go see a book-based movie and spend the entirety of the show internally griping about plot inconsistencies.

I'm one of those oddballs who like to track down obscure references, revel in obvious onomasticon uses and am, in fact, addicted to book porn.

I'll never miss a chance to gush about my favourite title, author, or a publishing house.

And I'll never, ever economize on books.

So yes, it would seem Dags is indeed an archetypal fan(girl). And if you have a problem with that...




I have another 'f' word for you, and it's definitely not work safe.