When I was in kindergarten, I already knew how to read. I was also one of the youngest kids in the class, because my birthday falls in the latter half of the year. So, there I was, five or whatever, and I'd been reading books, you know, with words, possibly chapters, for at least a year.

My parents divorced some time around or before 1980, therefore thrusting me into the world of joint custody by the age of two. Bouncing back and forth over the years, I clung to books, as entertainment and escape. We had cable at my mom's house, and while I devoured more than my share of episodic television, I still loved reading.

I once estimated my book intake from elementary school up through junior high. I managed at least a book a week whether or not school was in session (52) plus no less than four books per week's vacation (Thanksgiving – 2, Christmas – 8, Easter – 4, Summer – 36). That's 102 books a year, some of which, I'm sure, were re-reads. But they still count. So, that's 816 books. Before high school. And, even though I read less and the books got longer, I still managed to find time for a couple books per month. Therefore, my high school career yields almost a hundred more books. More than that once required reading tallies in.

The point of all this is that I flipped through hundreds of thousands of pages before entering adulthood. Translation: I used to read. A lot.

This past year, I read five books, maybe seven. And that's being generous.

So, gentle readers, I dare say it's time I become more like you: A reader.

I recently joined paperbackswap.com and changed out some old for new. I already have shelves of books I've acquired but not read. See, the desire to read never left, it's just the act of following through that's gotten more difficult.

I kind of want to start a book club. Only I don't want to start a book club. Maybe I'll just be in Oprah's club. She's nice.

Maybe we can be a book club. You and me. I'll post what I'm reading and you can pretend you read it, too, and say generic things like, “It was really, literary, you know?”

It'll be awesome.