Talkin' About: What is more important than books?

Books and Life: The Connection

Hello everyone! Today I have a little different talkin' about discussion post. I am not discussing any particular aspect of books/questions that have to do with certain topics found in books but rather what books mean to me, how they have been slowly going away (NOOOO) in my busy life, and all the concerns that come with it. 

So here goes. 

I love books. I think this is a pretty much of an universal statement for anyone who is reading this blog, and if its not, than I hope you stay and look around a little longer and find some books you would like to read to show you the magic of literature. But this is not a casual,"Oh I LOVEEE Ryan Gosling!" type of love. (Although, that love is completely justifiable.) This is a consuming obsession. 

I physically cannot live without books. It is an unimaginable situation for me. In fact, this feeling is so strong and possibly dangerous that the very first thing I would try to save in a fire would be my Harry Potter books. (okay, a little exaggeration, but you get the idea.) 

So what did I do when the workload and exhaustion of school slapped me in the face and overwhelmed my schedule? DIED INSIDE, that's what. 

For me, life and reading are synonyms. One is part of the other, and one is incomplete without the other. But my "reading" is not just skimming a few pages per day. It is immersing myself in a novel for hours (my weekly therapy session, honestly), spending time cultivating my TBR list, and borrowing heaps upon heaps from the library- knowing I can read them all. 

But I can't do that anymore. My reading has been reduced to a maximum of a few chapters per day (also, classics are much tougher and much more discouraging). I barely know what's circulating around the YA book community anymore. And I can't help but feel hopelessly overwhelmed when I stare at my TBR pile. 

I know I can't be happy without sufficient reading. I know I can't be alone in this juggling balance of schoolwork, rest, and books. But also, I know I need to increase my reading somehow. This may sound dramatic, but there's no real point to my studying if I don't read at the same time. Reading is a different form of knowledge that I need. 

Have you ever felt this way? How do you deal with lack of time to read/blog? Any book suggestions to get me back in the loop? 

I apologize for the sadness...but I am a little desperate here. :)