Reading Hangover

From the time I could read until just a few years ago when everything I could once easily do became a terrible physical struggle, I devoured books. I normally read them two or three at a time. When I moved from Tornado Fodder Cabin, my daughter hauled giant bags of good books to the used book stores in Manhattan and Lawrence. She was to keep the money for her trouble but it was a disgrace. There were easily over five thousand dollars worth of books but she received maybe $50 in return. That is fine with me. My books will go to someone else who loves to read - someone much smarter than I am who knows to buy used! I still have over two hundred books, the ones I simply could not release back into the wild.

The last "pop" author I read was Stephenie Meyer. I read the Twilight series and fell in love with the fictional character of Jacob Black, the shapeshifting Quileute Indian boy. No matter how old a woman becomes, the young girl continues to live in her psyche. My nephew is totally appalled by the Twilight vampires and movies, and calls fans "Twi-tards". I accept that label with pride. There are literally MILLIONS of Twi-tards out there! I particularly loved the Twilight movies because there were real Indian actors portraying Indian characters. I can think of no other mainstream movie that features real, modern day Indian people doing normal modern day things - aside from the fact they could shapeshift into giant wolves and kill vampires easily, of course.

But, even with easy reading like Stephenie Meyer, I get depressed when I have finished a book. I do not know why. Maybe it is nothing more than "all good things must come to an end". I just finished Sherman Alexie's book "War Dances". He is one of the few authors I am willing to suffer physically in order to read. His books are easy reads but his work sticks with you for a good long while. And he is funny. I am almost finished with "The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven". I will have a double reading hangover.