I like to read

So this week I have been totally engrossed in a certain series meant for "young adults." It has been quite delightful. I have read in their entirety four books since Monday evening. For book ADD me, this is an accomplishment in and of itself. I was surprised to find in these easy to read pages stories that made me think and feel. I was impressed with their depth, for I had meant only to read them as another way to pass the time.
I finished the last one today. I started it today, too. I finished around 5:30, just before church. I found myself a bit drunk (or so I assume...) from my reading. It took me another hour to awake into the real world. It was a funny feeling. I liked it. I liked being engulfed into a story that was so easy for me to relate to. I liked being challenged as I read about the character's trials and being reminded that so often our lives are complicated not by circumstance, but by our own shortcomings. I liked being reminded that we have to get past these shortcomings. It was nice.
I was surprised by the ending. These books are cheesy...or at least they are supposed to be. They are coming of age stories, so I expected things to tie up nicely. However, to my surprise and delight they ended in a much more realistic and hopeful way. It ended like it might have in real life. The characters stories were still going...just like real people. Our stories don't just stop and settle, the journey keeps going. It was a relief to end the books not feeling as if the story were unrealistic.
This past week has been a little intoxicating with these stories drifting through my mind. It is slightly embarrassing...I am 23 years old and should be reading something much more dignified. But even at 23, these stories allowed me to come to a better understanding of some things going on in my life and push me to places I should be.
Isn't it strange the way that an author can evoke such emotion in a reader?