Something Wicked This Way Comes

I'm making time to read something that I want to. You see, that's the problem with being and English major. After reading Hamlet for the third time, Medea for the second, M Butterfly two years in a row, and three hundred short stories, you don't read for pleasure anymore.

Oh, sure, you read when you have to. You read for the tests, and you enjoy reading about sons taking revenge on their mothers (who were, incidentally, just taking revenge for their daughter). You know the meaning of Deus ex Machina, and- if you see it elsewhere, you are tempted to cry, "Ha! Cheater! What a cop out!" You can tell when a poorly done twist will pop up. And when it doesn't, you're all the more bored for it.

So that's why I'm reading something for me. I used to read to get myself to sleep... or I'd read until I was through with the book at three in the morning. (About two years ago I stopped, because I was usually reading my homework until three in the morning... or getting up at four) My choice? Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury. I had all but forgotten about it until I was looking for something to do last night. After all the comments I had made about wanting to make an informed choice for my vote this year, I realized that I just wasn't up to watching the debate last night. (I did end up watching the end of it.)

I've had my bookshelf set up for about two months now- and I don't think I've actually touched any of the books since I put it up... at least not until last night. I actually had a choice of my books for October, but this one is dear to me.

So I'm inviting other people to read it with me- The book that says it's okay to be young, the book that says that carnivals can be creepy without killer clowns, the book that is all backwards death marches on organs, unpenetratable mirror mazes, and carousels that make you feel the years drain or gain on you.

Then, maybe you'll know why I read it every October until two years ago.

Just like I'm remembering what it was like to read it the first time