What Are You Reading?

So, if you were to ask me what I'm reading, I would likely lie. Nothing against you. I don't read books very often; I used to devour them before I had children. And I have the most wonderful discussions about books with a coworker. She and I have strikingly similar taste in books and are together lamenting the decline of readership in America, though, I did admit to her my own lack of book reading in the past few years.

If you were to ask, I would tell you with a little laugh that I had borrowed a book from my boss, a Kurt Vonnegut I hadn't read before. And that would be completely true. At my office Christmas party, I was a bit social and I drank a bit of wine (white wine. I can't be more specific than that; I lack sophistication in all matters of wine consumption). Beyond that, though, I spent an extensive amount of time browsing my boss's library, an eclectic collection of some damn good books.

On Monday after the party, I admitted to my boss that I had been browsing through his books and was interested in the Vonnegut books he had. We had a long talk about the party and about Vonnegut and he lent the book to me.

It is a delightful story and I fully intend to start reading the book any day now. But right now, my brain, addled by sickness and general sleeplessness, is incapable of processing anything more than "New Moon."

Last year, I admitted to having read "Twilight," fascinated by the sheer publishing power this book had. And I was sucked into the story, so much so that I had to also read "New Moon" and will eventually get around to the other two.

To some, the protagonist, Bella, is melodramatic; those people either have never been or cannot recall being teenage girls. Teenage girls can definitely be melodramatic, moody and absolutely certain that their love lives (or lack thereof) are the most important things in the world. Every time I turn a page and am tempted to criticize poor Bella, I recall my teenage crushes, recall each heartache visited upon my teenage self and I realize why the book is such a sensation. I am not in any way negating the essence of teenage girls or trying to generalize; I just recall my own experiences. I am alternately drawn to the story, and ashamed that I am drawn to it.

I am very close to the end of Moon and plan to start Vonnegut any day now. So, if you want to ask what I'm reading, just wait a few days and I'll be happy to discuss it with you.

It is with sadness that I announce that Dung! is now defunct. For some reason, the username and password no longer work and so there will be no further updates. I will miss being the Queen of the dungheap, but I am sure as the year progresses, a new blog will emerge.