Hi. My name is MC, and I’m an addict.

But before you go thinking I’m mainlining vodka, let me clarify: I’m a book lover. A bibliophile. A … oh, let’s just face it. I’m a book junkie.

Maybe you are too.

Do you have a backlog of books that would see you through three bird flu pandemics? Do you swear you’re just there to sell when you walk into your neighborhood used book store (Used Book Heaven on Siesta Key being my absolute favorite!) but somehow always end up leaving with even more books than you brought in?

Would you rather have a new book than a new pair of shoes? (Believe me, there are women out there right now … jonesin’ for a book … wearing flip flops.)

Do you have a pile of books next to your bed? Worse, have you ever rolled over in the middle of the night and found a book under the covers with you?

Welcome to my world.

I knew I had a book-buying problem when I moved from Boston to Sarasota and spent days packing books and only a couple of hours packing clothes.

I love everything about books – even the endings. But I’m ruthless when it comes to determining whether a book, once read, deserves a permanent spot on one of my cinder-block bookshelves. A book has to move me in some way – intellectually, emotionally. If it does that, I don’t care if it’s “War and Peace” or “Bridget Jones’s Diary,” it’s a keeper.

(Come to think of it, shouldn’t I use that same criteria for men?)

In the order of things I’d save if a hurricane was hurtling toward Sarasota: my cats, a lifetime of letters and journals, and a few books that I just wouldn’t want to live without: Rilke’s “Letters to a Young Poet,” Thoreau’s “Walden,” Machiavelli’s “The Prince,” and anything by Shakespeare.

One of the great things about Sarasota is its commitment to the “small” bookstore. People who live in and visit Sarasota are big readers, and they seem to love to frequent the Mom and Pop bookstores here in town.

Circle Books out on St. Armands Circle has been around for probably a dozen years and keeps things lively with book signings; Media on Main has a tidy selection on its walls; and now we’ve got the new Bookstore1Sarasota at 1359 Main. My point is, there are plenty of places in Sarasota to get your book fix – and buying local is always a good thing.

Books feed our souls. They transport us to the world of possibility. They live with us like summer loves, briefly, but beautifully. They … oh, let’s cut the crap.

The best thing about books is that they get you good and drunk.

On life.

This column appeared in the March 24th issue of the Sarasota Herald Tribune TICKET.