Getting Your Literature Fix: A Mission Statement

For some people good literature is like a drug. No, really. Some of you will know exactly what I mean by that (and in that case you're probably already a hopeless addict) but if that sounds too much like an exaggeration let me explain.

For many reading is just a way to pass the time. It provides something to do whilst sunbathing on holiday. Sometimes they will go out of their way to pick up a book because it's suddenly everywhere and they want to know what all the fuss about (50 Shades of Grey, The Hunger Games etc.) but for the most part it doesn't really matter to them whether they have a book on the go or not. Not so the addict.

You'll know the addict by the way they always know who the best dealer is for a particular kind of fix. You need a hallucinogenic like Fantasy or Sci-fi? No problem. Go see Robert Jordan, Neil Gaiman or Iain M. Banks. Tell them I sent you so they know to give you the good stuff. Want some downers? Sylvia Plath will set you up. If she ain't in go have a chat with Khaled Hosseini. Something stronger? Joyce is your man. Whatever your needs, the addict will know who to turn to.

But it's not all about discerning tastes. The addict needs a book like a junkie needs a fix and anything will do. When things get rough the addict can be spotted by the way they skulk around charity shops and second-hand book stores because they can't afford the prices in Waterstones or Blackwell's but they have to have something new to read anyway. If they can't find any of their usual dealers in these places they'll take any old hit. Trashy romance novels, celebrity biographies or thrillers written by paranoid right-wing gun nuts, it doesn't matter to the addict as long as they get just enough of a buzz to get them through to the next one. An addict is an addict because the HAVE to have that fix, rather than just wanting it.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, addicts, recreational users and first time experimenters, is the purpose of this blog. To point you in the right direction when it comes to finding your own drug of choice by learning from the experiences of somebody who's snorted, injected and smoked some of the best (and the worst) books to be found out there on the streets. So keep an eye on this space and we'll see if we can get you your very own Literature Fix.

Photo taken by tanjila, found on Flickr.com and used according to Creative Commons rules.