I have written, more than once, about what is on my reading list, what isn't etc. What I don't think I have ever blogged on are all those books on my not-for-me list, which is not quite as large as the mine-for-me list but much harder to feed.
Let us travel back in time to the early days of our marriage. That's right - about 1/2-way into the first decade. I don't remember what the book was, something science-y probably that I happened to see on the new releases shelf & thought "Well, maybe A might be interested in this" & I brought it home.
To say it did not go over well is an understatement. The highlights included an accusation that I was trying to control what he was reading. Uhmmm, what? In retrospect, I can see the nerve I accidentally slammed. I have spoken briefly about my in-laws; let me add this to the mix. To describe my mother-in-law as controlling is like calling the US Civil War a dust up. Sure it lasted less than five years, but we are still dealing with it today. I am not just talking about those persons of reduced brain power with the confederate flag bumper stickers/t-shirts who yap about real americans, (although I do mean them, too), I am talking about the 2013 US Supreme Court docket which includes a challenge to the 1965 Voting Rights Act (Shelby County, Alabama versus Holder if you are curious) put in place because 100 years later, that war was malingering. Like I said: controlling.
I have a feeling my complete stupefaction is what calmed him down. That & the reality that while he did have a knee jerk reaction he is not usually a jerk. Within a very short time he was asking me to see if I could find particular books. & I confess, I was a bit controlling. In the interest of giving him options (honest!), I try always to have at least one work of fiction, one work of non-fiction & one wildcard sitting on his bedside table. This month:
Mad River by John Sandford
God, No! Signs You May Already Be an Atheist and Other Magical Tales by Penn Gillette
The Where, the Why and the How: 75 Artists Illustrate Wondrous Mysteries of Science by Volvoski, Rothman & Lamothe
Happy Valentine's Day
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