1. You Go through Countless Positions in One Sitting

Once you get lost in a book, it is hard to snap back into reality. You tend to dedicate countless hours to finishing reading most of the book in just one sitting. It can get tiring for your body, so you compensate and go through numerous positions. You sit upright, lie on your belly, switch to your side, your other side, cross your legs and this is all just so you can proceed reading.

2. You Give up Sleep to Read

When life gets hectic, the only tranquil time fit for reading is right before bed. So once you get to the most interesting part when the plot truly unravels, you sacrifice your sleep just so you won’t interrupt the flow of the book. It has happened to me numerous times and to this day I have no regrets, no matter how sleep deprived I may be the next day.

3. You Think about the Book Throughout the Day

When you find a piece of work that connects to your heart and soul, reading it is just not enough. Personally, when I relate to a book, I think about what the author has tried to tell his readers while on the bus, in school, during lunch or right before bed. Certain works of literature are very weighty and impactful, so there is no other way to go around it.

4. You Convince Your Friends to Read It Too

Once you find a book that you are consumed with, it is hard to keep its greatness just to yourself. You want other people to read it, you want other people to be moved by it and most of all you want somebody to talk to about it. Plus all you wish for is for this book to become one of the most respected works of art. Like John Green once said, “Sometimes, you read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read the book.”

5. You Highlight Quotes

You know you found something worth reading when you pull out your highlighter and underline lines that speak to you. There are quotes out there that seem like they were written just for you, they relate to your life and express your feelings in a way you never could. So trust me, when that happens, the book becomes a part of you.

6. Sometimes You Have Emotional Outbursts

Sometimes when you are truly enjoying a book, you come to care for the characters so much that your emotional ups and downs are dictated by the plot. Every time something dramatic or tragic happens to your favorite character, you can’t help but feel for them because in some way or another, you see a reflection of yourself in their actions or personality.

7. You Purchase the Hardcover Version

You know that a book made an influential impact on you as a person when all you want is to own a hardcover version of the book! Electronic copies don’t seem to matter because there is something about owning a physical copy that makes it much more valuable and important. This is one of the reasons why I will never get used to listening to audio books or reading electronic books.

As an active reader I can say that there is nothing more exciting and rewarding than finding a piece of literary work of art that speaks to you. What are some recent books that you were completely consumed with?