Friday, July 9, 2010

The Problem with Scary Books

My first book was "Are You My Mother?" by P.D. Eastman.  I used to sit on my little brother's lap and make him listen as I read out loud (something my college roommates know that I LOVE to do):

"Are you my mother?"  I'd look down at him squirming and pause.  "No," I'd reply to myself with conviction.  "I am NOT your mother."

Since that first book, I was hooked.  I read all the time.  It's part of the reason why I wanted to teach- because I love reading and writing enough to major in it in college (read: English) and actually enjoy when I had papers assigned on 400 page novels.  I no longer sit on anyone as I read, but you will find it pretty difficult to interrupt me.  It's like I'm in a different world.  People have screamed my name and thrown objects (and missed) but I don't skip a beat.  It's because when I read, I'm in it.  I think in the voice of the author.  I add myself into the plot.  I have to finish the book in a day or I risk dreaming myself back into, which only serves to confuse me when I start reading the next day.

My latest book was Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.  I'm a little behind on that fad, because it's already come out on Netflix, but oh well.  If you haven't heard about it, it's classified on its back cover as a murder mystery/family saga/love story/financial intrigue, so you can imagine how freaked out I was to have 100 pages left at 3 am.  I was far enough in to be at the most horrifying part, but not far enough in to reach resolution.  I was also at the absolute end of my energy; I had no choice but to go to sleep.  Turning off the light, I laid in bed, swearing I'd see a shadow in my window just beyond my foot board.  Forget that the story happens in Sweden.  I was in a half awake, half nightmare state.  I should have just finished the book.

Then it happened.  A figure- in my door, just standing there.

"What the hell?"  I called out sleepily.

"I need to sleep in here.  It's too damn hot."  Great time for my mom to open my door and stand as a haunting shadow for thirty seconds.  I should only be allowed to read scary books in the daytime.

*Note: the book isn't actually that scary.  Very good, no doubt, but really not that scary.  I'm just a baby.

No comments:

Post a Comment