Otherwise Known As Ty The Great

I took my (3rd favorite) shortcut from New Jersey to Connecticut earlier this week to avoid the George-Washington-Bridge-Sunday-night-northbound-nightmare. My detour took me up Palisades Parkway and onto I-287 East, which passes by a town called Tarrytown.

Yes, I've taken this extended route at least 11 times since I first left for college in Boston over a decade ago. But, this night, the only person awake in the car, I really noticed the sign for Tarrytown, and it forced me to remember the first time I had ever heard of such a town...

JUDY BLUME'S "OTHERWISE KNOWN AS SHEILA THE GREAT"

What a great book. My heart skipped a beat remembering how fun her books were. I had never been to Tarrytown (still haven't). I had hardly left the state of New Jersey back then.

As a pre-teen, I vividly dreamed of all the towns described in Blume's books, in the Babysitter's Club series, and Nancy Drew novels. I lived vicariously through these characters. I vowed that when I was older that I would visit all of these really cool places. Clearly, it was the beginning of my insane addiction to traveling (not to mention that The Babysitter's Club was to the pre-teen me what SATC is to me now).

But, Judy Blume's book was the first. I remember thinking, wow, Tarrytown is just in New York, it's SO close to me, yet it sounds like a totally different reality. Maybe one of these trips, I'll have to carve out time to stop and see if it lives up to my 9-year-old expectations.

What books are imprinted in your memories? Which books did you read during the pre-teen years that made you want to be something extraordinary (or weird), visit a certain place, fuel your love of reading, or have characters who you still remember?

Just a shout for Blume's other books I can still remember plots of: Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing and Freckle Juice. And one NON-Blume book: Freaky Friday, which made a comeback in 2003 with Jamie Curtis and Lindsay Lohan. I still think the idea was SO clever!

Ahh... to read like a kid again...

Dr. Ty
From the GAL Blog
www.getalifecampaign.com
Please leave comments here.

What I've had my nose in lately

Set a goal or else time escapes you.

In order to keep myself accountable to my reading goals for the year, I'm sharing them with you guys.

Prior to fall 2006 (when GAL was born), I only read nonfiction (political, psychological philosophical-type books) and textbooks until my GAL pal Nakia disapprovingly eyed my bookshelf, declared that I was boring (gasp), and prescribed more fiction for my ailment.

I started with The Heiress of Water and I've been hooked ever since. I used to read a ton of fiction as a kid, but somewhere I think I became too "serious" for that. Truly, letting yourself get taken away to some far away world is so relaxing.

So -- Stop making excuses! Even if you read ONE page, it's one page closer to finishing, and one additional page of fun.

2008 TALLY

READ SO FAR:
The Alchemist
Harry Potter and the Prizoner of Azkaban
Being In Love by Osho


To be read before September 30:
Jesus Land: A Memoir
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire


To read by the end of the year:

The Memory Keeper's Daughter
On Writing by Stephen King
Just Too Good to Be True by E. Lynn Harris (comes out July 15th... pre-ordered a copy months ago)


Now that's I've posted this here, you all have to hold me to it. Feel free to share your reading tally for '08. For my GALs who spend a lot of time in the car...

How do you feel about fiction on audio CD?

I also noticed that when I consciously turn off my laptop, it's so much easier for me to read for leisure. Being on the computer zaps so much of my time! Try it tonight. Decide that you'll cut it off 2 hours earlier than usual. Let me know what happens.

Dr. Ty
From the GAL Blog
Haven't read "The Get A Life Campaign?" get your copy!