Reading Is Important. Right?

I love reading. Before the tornado arrived, I could often be found relaxing on my day off with a book and a cup of tea. I have been that way forever. I have a personal library of over 200 books that we have moved across the country and will continue to do so. Sometimes during naptime, I still sit down with a good book and a cup of tea. I understand the importance of books and reading to children. I know it is a wonderful thing. My concern is when is it too much?

Tiny Tornado has developed a love of books. She has overtaken one shelf of my bookcase and it has about 50 books on it. She also has books that don't go on the bookshelves that are small picture books. Every day that we are home this bookshelf is emptied. In the morning, we read for about 2 hours. No, I am not exaggerating. I sit on the floor, she brings me a book, I read it and then send her to get a different one. Some times she brings a new one, sometimes it is one we just read, sometimes she gets distracted for a couple minutes but she always comes back. The afternoons are much the same, just for a longer period of time. We try to distract her with toys, food, juice, and anything we possibly can. The distractions last for a few minutes and then she finds a book and we start all over.

We have started hiding books to escape them. Where is Ellie the Elephant was read over 50 times in a week. It got sent to the babysitter (Sorry for that). If the book happens to have a cat in it we must read it over and over and over. Every time she sees the cat she yells KITTY. Charlie and the Christmas Kitty by Ree Drummond is currently hiding under the couch. Good Morning, Good Night is inside the seat of the recliner. If we did not work to make her do other things, she would want us to read to her for probably 6 or 7 hours a day.

At what point is it too much? When do we need to put the books where she can't reach them? Do we need to limit her reading like we limit her iPad or TV time? Is it important that she play with other toys in addition to her books? Is it great that she loves to read and we are doomed to read Five Little Pumpkins over and over until she learns to read on her own?