let's get the record straight

a friend asked me the other night if i read because i'm passionate about it or because i love it (what a great question!), and i immediately answered, "oh, it's definitely because i'm passionate about it. i would read all day every day if i could."
my friend seemed to think that was an acceptable answer, and i didn't really think about it until later that night.
hmm, i thought. i don't think my reading is actually passion. i think it's really love. passion implies an urgency, a fire that burns brightly for a few minutes but then dies.
love, on the other hand, is more like a fire that ignites and burns slowly. sometimes it rages and sometimes it smolders, but it never goes out. this seems to describe my reading habit much more closely: there are periods when all i want to do is read, but then there are times when i can't even think about books. but whatever mood i'm in, whether i can't stop myself from reading or i can't even look at a book, i know that i will never fall out of love with my favorite books and all of the other ones i have yet to read.