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Conversations with Books, Part 2
Here’s more of the imagined conversations between the books on my new bookshelves. See Part 1 here.
The road trip books are crowding the top shelf and trying to ignore my scrapbook from study abroad at Oxford. They’re like, “Look, unless this journey of yours is a metaphor for finding yourself, we’re not interested.” The Murry kids from A Wrinkle in Time are sitting next to Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and I’m sure they’re comparing notes to see if they met any of the same people. Richard Mayhew from Neverwhere is eavesdropping and trying to get up the nerve to jump in. I put both of John Green’s road trip books next to As I Lay Dying because I figure those smartie pants kids will feel smug about sitting next to William Faulkner. Also, Alaska and Margo can get together and form the “John Green Dream Girls” club. I’ve helpfully supplied Amy and Roger with a handful of guidebooks, though Antarctica would be a long drive for them. Finally, the Tolkien hobbitses are feeling bewildered on their perch next to manic Maureen Johnson and her 13 Little Blue Envelopes series. She’s loving it, of course, and she’s asking many inappropriate questions about Sauron.
Elsewhere, Mindy Kaling is dropping bon mots to an impressed Bridget Jones and a slightly confused Elizabeth Bennet. Bridge is proposing cocktails, Mindy is proposing cocktails and crazy manicures, Elizabeth is finding modern English much too familiar, and Georgia Nicolson is scheming to swipe some booze and trying to pick up tips from Ms Jones. Mindy tries out her best fake British accent, and the other three dissolve in laughs. Ruby Oliver from The Boy List is craning her head around the others to exchange wry looks with Sloane Crosley and Daria.
Ah, the dreaded Vampires and The Women Who Love Them shelf. Bella takes up a lot of room here (of course she does), but there’s room for a kind of support group moderated by the author Dead Travel Fast. He’s like, “You guys know these are creatures who actually want to kill you, right?” And Elena of The Vampire Diaries is like, “Yeah, but have you seen them? Super good looking.” Bella high fives her and makes some comments about sparkling. At this point, Vlad Dracula turns his head and clears his throat meaningful while pointing to his gross and sparkle-free face and Meena Harper from Insatiable makes a gagging sound. Finney of My Dead Girlfriend scratches his head and says, “So, none of you are dating ghosts? Why am I here again?” And that’s when I sheepishly admit that he just fit into the space really nicely.
Next time: A date night for some YA couples and the children of the Gods have brunch.
Resolved!
Another year, another stab at sticking to resolutions.
This year, I have basically no intention of going to the gym every single day or systematically cleaning out a room in my condo once a month. I’m not going to pretend to give up sugar entirely or cut down TV watching to one hour daily. There’s no use attempting to learn knitting or promising to make my bed every single day. Read the rest of this entry
How to Date a Vampire
I have finished reading the Twilight series. To be fair, I finished reading it a couple of weeks ago, but I’ve been ruminating since then. I have some thoughts specific to the novels, but I think that some of the basic truths can be appreciated even if you have not read the books. In fact, I don’t think there are many of us who have not encountered the Vampire Boyfriend at some point in our pop culture pursuits- most notably in the honorable Buffy the Vampire Slayer (but there are other, newer examples such as CBS’s weak Moonlight and just about every book series for young women at Barnes & Noble). What we seem to be learning is that it is becoming increasingly acceptable to date a vampire– and to that I say, “Finally!”
But it’s a new wilderness, kids. For years, nay centuries, it’s been taboo to date a vampire, so there’s a bit of gray area. There are some special concerns when your boyfriend’s main goal in existence is to consume the very force that keeps you in existence. I have compiled some points of consideration to assist you on your way. Let’s call this an early Valentine’s Day present from me to you
And now I present….The Girl’s Guide to Dating a Vampire!
M. Dabski 