The Job I Wish Someone Would Invent

Okay, so here's the thing: I LOVE to read. Even on days when I'm soccer momming and don't have time to squeeze more than ten minutes of reading in, I still love it. The problem that I have is that I don't have time to obsess about my books AND read them. (I barely have time to read traffic signs some days.)

What do I mean by obsess? I mean, of course, tracking down every single scrap of written work published by my favorite authors and noting titles and release dates of said upcoming written works. Sometimes I find that beloved authors fall through the cracks and I find out, days, weeks, or months later, that a new release has been out and (gasp) I don't have it yet! For example, the Richard Castle books (which coincide with the television series Castle which I also watch) has a new book out that was released this week. This was a series that had fallen off my radar and therefore, I was not stalking the book sites for knowledge on when the next upcoming release would be.

This lead me to think that I really need someone who will write down all my favorite authors and series and notify me of new releases. It could be on a monthly basis. I would get an email from my "Book Assistant" (or Senior Literary Investigator if you will) telling me of everything I'm going to want to get that month so I have time to buy them on Amazon or Barnes and Noble. Oh, but I don't mean a paid position because I'm a mom to three money grubbing children and the proud owner of one money gobbling house. No, this would have to be a volunteer position. Maybe as practice for how to be an assistant to someone who is actually important. Or to improve one's organizational skills by starting on a small project like this. (Although my list of favored authors is growing quite large so it's no small task anymore.)

That lead me to think: Maybe it could be a profitable position and maybe that's my calling. Think how fabulous it would be if my day job was keeping a spreadsheet of favorite authors and their new book releases. For someone who loves to read, it's like winning the employment lottery. (But only if it pays well. Otherwise it's the employment pipe dream.) For someone who loves to read AND organize, it's like winning the employment lottery and the regular lottery on the same day that you won a new car and received a Pulitzer for your work.

So until then, I'm my own Book Assistant. (No, I think I really do prefer Senior Literary Investigator.) It's not as exciting, and the boss is a nightmare to work with, but it pays the bills. Oh wait, no it doesn't. Um, it nourishes my bookworm soul? Yeah, that sounds about right.