Number 4849!!!

Today I wrote three reviews -- and made it to:
New Reviewer number 4849
Classic Reviewer number 5855.
I now have 41 reviews to my name, and 121 positive votes out of 140. I'm most excited about the review I wrote for this book about loneliness, where one voter commented that I should write a book.
The thing is, I try really hard to be myself when I review books and to insert something of myself into the reviews. In my review of the loneliness book, I confessed to my longtime fascination with self-help books, and the voyeuristic thrill I get from reading other's dirty laundry. I admitted that I hate books that recommend exercise as the cure for what ails you, and noted that I feel there are multiple ways to be lonely. I like to think that that feeling came through in my review of the loneliness book. Perhaps all the reviews put together give the reader a bit of a sense of who I am -- I hope so.
I think that we read to feel that we are not alone in the world, and for me, that's partially why I review books. I don't have a lot of close friends, and have been looking for a book club in my neighborhood for years without success. Sometimes when I read a really great book, I find myself wishing I had a friend to talk about the book with -- and in a way, reading other reader's reviews of that book helps fill that void. It's nice to know that someone felt that way about my review as well.