I love books. That sentence is in no way an exaggeration. Whenever I am obliged to defend myself for preferring people with a mastery of the English language, one of the main reasons I cite is that I like people who like books. And I've noticed a clear correlation between those who devour books and those who love language as I do.

Now, I'm pretty clear, in my profile, that I read a lot. But let's face it -- "a lot" is relative. To some people, "a lot" is a book a month or so. So I thought perhaps a tour of Wimz's House of Books might clarify the issue a bit.

You enter the front door into the living room. Do not get distracted by the movie collection, please! In addition to the typical accoutrements of a living room/family room, you'll spot a basket of borrowed books under one end table. Oh, um, ignore the box of condoms there. Should have put those away. *blush* On the coffee table, two piles of books, the first Christmas gifts from my dear friend and ex-husband, and the other, books for my book dinner club. Laura Esquivel's Malinche is on top, bookmarked about 50 pages in. On the end table by my purse, the library book I just checked out (Vanity and Vexation by Kate Fenton). In my purse, of course, I have reading material for those just-in-case-I'm-stuck-somewhere moments, currently a slim novella by J.D. Robb.

Behind the living room, the downstairs bedroom. Or, in my case, the library slash computer room slash second spare bedroom, with five tall five-shelf bookcases chock full of books, from Cherry Adair to Banana Yoshimoto, John Christopher to Dorothy Sayers (of course Dorothy Sayers!). If you peeked in the closet (oh, don't peek in the closet -- the mess I've shoved in there!) you'd notice a couple boxes of books marked "Still to be read"... as well as a couple piles of books loaned out and returned (oops, should re-file those, lazy lazy Wimz!). Plunked in the middle of the floor, my library bag, currently full of the books taken on Christmas vacation. Only 15, if you were counting. Does that seem like a lot of books for a ten-day vacation? No? Then probably you're my kind of person!

To your right, the downstairs bathroom, with reading material for all moods. On the floor, an Entertainment Weekly, open to the article on key movies of 2009. In the magazine basket, Bust magazine, page saved, the latest issue of the Phipps magazine (ah... the lovely Chihuly photos!), the WYEP magazine declaiming 2008's best albums. A few books, bookmarked -- Greatest American Essays, The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs, the Music Lover's Poetry Anthology.

Ahh, the kitchen... a room incomplete without books. Cookbooks, that is. From classics (Betty Crocker, Joy of Cooking) and vegetarian (Moosehead Cookbook, Vegetarian Indian cooking), to my stash of crockpot cookbooks... and don't forget about my Alton Brown collection! Continuing through, you'll see the dining room, which is relatively book-free ... except for my second stash of cookbooks. I don't really spend a lot of time in there, you see. Although at the moment, there's a bag of Christmas gifts propped up against the wall, which includes Barbara Ehrenreich's Bait and Switch (an eerily accurate gift considering my recent layoff).

Where would you like to go next? Up? OK, well, I'll follow you. (I'm not staring at your ass. That's just your imagination.) On your left at the top of the stairs is my bedroom. That pile of books on top of the dresser is my "I removed these books from my luggage after a trip but haven't yet taken them downstairs" pile. (I won't mention how long some have been there if you please resist asking, 'k?) On my nightstand, the latest books devoured in bed, topped by my current "can't sleep" reading material -- Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Yes, it is a large pile, thank you for noticing. OK, two piles. But only two!

In the bathroom next door, more magazines (Jane, some nature conservancy magazines) plus a copy of the poems of Emily Dickinson. Also up here is the primary spare bedroom, also home to my collection of children's books. Some of my all-time favorites are up here -- Anne of Green Gables (and the sequels), the Narnia books (on hardcover, naturally), The Secret Garden and Abel's Island. Poetry books from my childhood, with my all-time favorite, Eugene Fields's The Rockaby Lady From Hushabye Street. Plus my collection of picture books, gifts from my sister.

Next, down two flights of stairs to the basement. Ahh, the basement. My big huge, extremely cluttered basement, home to most of my book collection. Some on the three bookshelves down here, some still in boxes. Many, many boxes. Piles of them, in fact. My main collection of non-fiction (all my women's studies books, my humor books, books on quilting) is here. Romances, mysteries, general fiction. All currently housed in boxes, as there is no place for them upstairs. Poor sad books, suffering the worst fate for a book -- to be packed away and left unread. And, as there are a couple books in the back seat of my car, I even have books in the garage.

So, to review, yes, I have books in every room. And yes, I currently have bookmarks in everything from Malinche to Emily Dickinson's poetry to The Year of Living Biblically to Pride and Prejudice. So when I say things like "I read a lot" and "I am really interested in those who love books as I do," believe me.