Thursday, July 22, 2010

My Secret Shame

This week I finally went to a meeting of my book club, and I had actually read the book! That is because the book was Ruth Riechl's memoir about her mother and can be read in an hour and a half. I loved it, but some people in our group hated it because they felt Ruth had given her mother short shrift. I think if you get any shrift at all from your kids after you're dead, it's a good thing. I am a writer, so I should be a voracious reader. But here is it is: I am anything but. In college I loved Dickens and Thomas Hardy. After college I moved on to People, the New Yorker and slim volumes of poetry. I am still like that: an eclectic mix of intellect, fluff, and pure junk. The guilt always gnaws at me, especially during commercials of NCIS--and especially when I'm watching an episode that I've seen before. Can one be a good storyteller without studying volumes of other storytellers? I cannot answer that without flinching. It's not that I never read, but I certainly do not read enough books. I love television and always have. Howdy Doody started my addiction, and I have been in the Peanut Gallery ever since. I do play Scrabble on my laptop while I watch Law and Order. It's not that I don't love words. I do, I do!

The other day I went to an Internet site that asked me to include my "personal profile." The screen prompted me with questions, such as: What would your last meal be? That was easy. CAKE! But one question made me queasy: Which one book have you read over and over?

My cheeks flushed with shame. My mouse wouldn't budge. (Not even on my Ouija Board mouse pad.) Finally I filled in the blank. Which book have you read over and over? I wrote: TV Guide. Ouch. The truth does hurt!
Posted by Susan Amerikaner at 9:20 PM

2 comments:

  1. Laura Huntt FotiJuly 23, 2010 at 10:04 PM

    I hated that Ruth Reichl book and the mother she described. All her sugar coating and rationalizations couldn't hide the fact that Mom was a selfish beast. You can have Eat, Pray, Love too. I guess I'm a contrarian that way.

    Don't feel bad for not reading one book over and over. So many books, so little time, and all that jazz. The last time I read a book over and over I was stuck in the infirmary at Girl Scout camp with only Nancy Drew and the Password to Larkspur Lane. Reading that multiple times cured me of repeat reading forever.

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  2. Ilene SpectorJuly 24, 2010 at 8:56 AM

    Is it really still "in" to actually read a real book? I mean with Kindles, and books on tape, and television, do we have to hold a hard cover, or soft one with small print, book in our hands and look at the words? Even young children can now have the books read to them (in mechanical voices though)and press a button to turn the pages automatically!If I were asked which book I read over and over it would probably be Reader's Digest...there's simply not enough time to get involved in any longer stories. And having a copy is the bathroom fits my schedule perfectly.

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