I've read the Big Book dozens of times, to the point I'm weary of it (I know, AA heresy). I prefer reading the stories in The AA Grapevine, as they're contemporary & in the same vein as stories in the Big Book. In fact, my home group is a Grapevine meeting...By far my favorite meeting of the week.

I do, however LOVE the term "real alcoholic" which, if I remember correctly, comes from Chapter 3 (?) of the Big Book. For me it holds much more meaning than simply admitting I'm a "run-of-the-mill alcoholic." There's a guy I run into around the tables from time to time who always says, "I'm ***** & I'm a REAL alcoholic." I never say that, but it's pretty cool & very accurate in my case.