Tuesday, December 7, 2010

One of Those Days

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Do you guys remember this book?



So begins the trials and tribulations of Alexander:
"I went to sleep with gum in my mouth and now there's gum in my hair and when I got out of bed this morning I tripped on the skateboard and by mistake I dropped my sweater in the sink while the water was running and I could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day."

So I'm sorry I didn't post something yesterday but...

Everyone in the house was sick, from my husband to my dog. The shower was freezing cold when I stepped into it shocking me awake. The 17 mph wind easily blew through any attempt I had at layers. The metro was delayed. I spilled coffee on my keyboard. It was, in summary, a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

I don't often feel I'm living out a book. Usually there are only small, stolen moments in a storyline that feel exacting. But yesterday I was Alexander in this book. We were together in the struggle.

I definitely do not love these days but I do love this book. It was, I remember, so refreshing to know that someone else had felt the way I had on occasion. So this got me wondering, what books have you lived out?


Confession:
My inner soundtrack was (and without fail always is on these kinds of days) Monica's "Don't Take It Personal." Sure it's an R&B song circa 1995 but like comfort food this is my comfort song and I dare you not to love it...okay, I don't dare the haters but the others, I dare you :-)




Bonus feature:
Judith Viorst, author of Alexander among others, has participated in the National Book Festival in Washington, DC. The podcast can be listened to here.

3 comments:

  1. Yes! Loved, and still love, that song. Hope today goes better for you!

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  2. Thanks! Yes, things are looking up today :-)

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  3. I guess you should move to Australia. Favorite. Book. Ever. From the day I first read it it's resided in/on my nightstand. (It's still there, on top of that journal I never write in and under my iphone charging cord.)

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