We greeted each other in the elevator as I stepped in and I turned to face the door.
"What's that you’re reading?" she asked.
"Pardon?" I said, turning down myPod.
"Your book," she pointed toward it, "what is it?"
"Oh," I said as I felt my face flush. "It's called The Legend of Holly Claus."
She frowned.
"It's sort of a kids' book," I said. "I like kids' books. Sometimes they’re just what I need."
"Uh huh," she said.
I turned back to the door.
"I'm reading this book, right now," she said. "It's very realistic and sort of about..." she mumbled and I didn't understand what she said. "It has all these great characters in it."
I nodded.
"I really like it when it's like that. When there are characters in the book that I recognize. I like it when I see people I know in the book I'm reading."
I thought, yeah, it was fun reading a 'realistic' book with familiar people in it, but that it was also great recognizing people you know or have seen in books that are full of the fantastic. To see your brother lead a band of rogues against a dragon or to watch as your cousin pilots her ship into a planet's atmosphere is often more amazing than reading about them go to a bar and get drunk or visit a retirement community. Why limit those you know to the mundane when you can find them doing amazing things that aren't possible? Don't they deserve to have fantastical lives?
"Sure," I said, "I like that, too."
The elevator dinged and we both got off. She turned to the right and I walked straight ahead.
2 comments:
You should have told her you were reading it because your mother wanted you to.
What do you think of it?
She never asked why, so I didn't even think of volunteering information.
I thought the first half or so was interesting but a little boring and then it got really good.
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