About a Book Addiction

I don't rememember learning to read...can't imagine my life without books. And I'm definititely not monogomous when it comes to reading. Usually I'm juggling several books at the same time, so it is a good thing that my tastes span nearly every genre. Still, I've always been extremely particular about how I read....

BATH BOOK

My bath book is usually contemplative fare...some non-fiction book that I read in hopes that some personal enlightenment will sink in while I soak. The thought of having an epiphany when I am nude and neck-deep in scented bubbles certainly appeals...but, alas, I'm still waiting. Most important batth book qualification? The book cannot be a real page-turner that will leave me shriveled like a raisin in a tub of cold water because I can't put it down. And while we are here in the bathroom, I want to be clear on one thing...I do NOT read on the john. Such a guy thing.

PURSE BOOK

The main characteristic of my purse book is that I not be ashamed to read it in public. This is the go-to book that I read in waiting rooms, lines and whenever I have a spare moment. No bodice-rippers or self-help books in this category...classic lit or anything by Stephen King works best. The book has to be something I've already read and loved, so that if I am distaracted by whatever I am ACTUALLY supposed to be doing, I won't loose momentum. After all, I know the plot already and re-read them for the nuances. (If "the devil is in the details" then Mr. King is Satan himself...I learn something about writing every time I read his books.) Plus I am still single and you can't beat the cred you get with guys by reading The Gunslinger or Desperation in public. Not so much with Bridges of Madison County, capiche?

Read-Aloud Books

I've been reading to my daughter Madison since she was in utero. We covered all my favorite classics while I was pregnant, like Wuthering Heights and 1984...as well as the ones I always meant to read, but never got around to, like the Lord of the Rings trilogy. 18 works of literature in all. As an unwed mother-to-be, I was sure to include The Scarlet Letter and Madame Bovary; I like to think that these early bonding sessions helped develop her vocabulary...and her sense of irony. Of course, once she was actually born, I tried to switch to more age-appropriate books, but she never lost a her taste for big words and complicated plots. I read all seven Harry Potter books out loud to her and the coolest thing about that was they brought us right through her childhood. She's almost 14 now and a fan of the Twilight series (HATES the movie!). The Twilight books are a perfect example of a series not appropriate for me to read to her...too much romance and mushy stuff. Still, we keep the tradition alive; we're about to embark on the Alice in Wonderland books in honor of the Tim Burton movie coming out.

Bed Books

I can read just about anywhere, but my favorite place to read is in bed. I'm actually incapable of falling asleep without reading first; sometimes I fall asleep with book in hand, other times I stay awake all night. Being super-comfortable and melting into a book is (unfortunately) my number one priority when I go to bed. Half of my ginormous King size bed is covered with unread and half-read books in every genre and my entire bedside table is absolutely stacked. Historical fiction, sci-fi, romance, chick-lit, cyber punk, biography, romance, classics, fantasy...well, I could go on, but I'm sure you get the idea. I guess my piont is that while I might be single, I definitely don't sleep alone...I've got dozens of amazing authors just waiting for me to take a crack at them.

So what am I reading now? You'll never believe it, but I'm working my way through Amy Vanderbilt's Everyday Etiquette, circa 1962. Actually, its a darned good read...equal parts educational and amusing. I was going to put it up for sale in Comfuzzled, then started reading it and got hooked.

But that's a whole other blog...

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can, I think I can

I loved Watty Piper's The Little Engine That Could when I was growing up; I'm pretty sure it changed the course of my life. When others thought I couldn't (or shouldn't) do something, I've always been able to believe that I could, no matter what the odds. Or the consequences.

And, oh, the things I've done...

Skip college? Check.

Take a Greyhound to Hollywood at nineteen with nothing but 60 bucks and a dream? Cliche, but true.

Become pregnant and choose to be a single mother at age 24? Wholeheartedly, yes.

Attend the '04 Berlinale (Berlin Film Festival) as an accredited industry professional? Absolutely.

Quit a two pack-a-day, 17 year smoking habit cold turkey? Yep.

Take a job in Iraq away from my daughter for months at a time, without really knowing what that job would be? Roger that.

Mostly, I've done what seemed fun or right or opportune at the time...and I've tried to cultivate this particular brand of fearlessness in my daughter. There have definitely been some hairy moments where I was sure I'd made the wrong decision, but I've also gotten to travel the world, walk a few red carpets, take Black Hawk helicopters on business trips and best of all, feel like the luckiest mom on earth with the most amazing daughter EVER. The universe always seems to even things out.

So what, if I never "made it" as an actress? The two years I spent in Los Angeles trying taught me more than 4 years of college ever could. I can always go back to school.

The Berlin Film Festival didn't launch my screenwriting career, but I got to attend world premiers and see a horde of amazing films with a really great friend. Besides, the cigarette habit I kicked right after Berlin was immediately replaced by a 4-year case of writer's block.

My job in Iraq was a godsend financially and professionally...but while I was gone, my little girl became a young woman. I'm still trying to catch up.

All in all, I'd say that the lesson I took from Mr. Piper's parable so long ago has certainly stood me in good stead. Of course, I read the Little Engine That Could to my daughter, just like my mom read it to me.

When I came accross this old edition of the book, I knew I had to have it for Comfuzzled. But as I looked through the pages at the familiar pictures, I realized my "engine that could" attitude had started losing some of its steam. That hill seems a little too high sometimes and the load just a tad on the heavy side. I used to love not knowing what was around the corner, but now I'm not sure about reaching he next peak. What if I don't like the looks of the valley below?

And then I see my daughter charging headlong into the unknown, going after what she wants from life and never doubting that things will go her way. I remember again what that knowing felt like, and I am inspired.

She might as well be shoveling coal into my engine.