Snow Day

I think I'm getting on my dog's nerves.  Now, I know that most dogs don't like hugs, but Luna does.  She likes to nuzzle her nose up under my hair by the back of my neck. When I go and give her a kiss, she reciprocates, although I prefer she didn't, but it's the thought that counts.  But yesterday she grumbled when I went to kiss her, as if she was annoyed with me.  Me: "There's my little guurrl.  You're just sooo cute. MM-wah!"  Luna: "Oh, good grief, enough already."

Today has been no different.  Mind you she was already in a bad mood.  It had just started to snow, nothing but a light dusting, and she was at the door whining to come in. (To her the white stuff that falls from the sky just screws up the status quo). But the fur-child gets restless, and when she gets restless she can be pretty clueless as to what she wants (don't we all?).  She wants a treat.  No, she wants to go outside.  She stands in the open doorway staring at the snow, still not sure about going outside, decides she doesn't want to go outside.  She's hungry.  No, she doesn't want that, no, not even with cheese.

Yes, she's spoiled.  But she's also very gracious and doesn't take anything for granted.

So, I go out with her and we go for a walk (and a sniff or two) in the woods.  Of course, when we come back I want to take a picture of her, much to her chagrin.

 

I think I'll give her a little space for now.

Oh, Gertie....

I sincerely hope it fails.

It's terrible to hope such a thing.  But I can't remember the last time I've experienced such a hatred towards a book.

And I love books.  I mean love, love, love!

I put off reading that book because I was feeling a bit elitist, I guess.  I don't know.  I knew it was popular, I saw it every every time I went into the bookstore or meandered through the books and magazines at Target.  I knew it was about sex and that it is highly erotic, but that had nothing to do with why I wasn't anxious to pick it up and read.  I have no problem reading erotica, I've read it.  Anais Nin, the godmother of erotica, is one of my favorite writers.

But then I found myself between books, and the movie to that book was coming out.  In a momentarily lapse of reason, I hit the "buy" button on my Nook and within seconds Fifty Shades of Crap, oops, I mean Grey was in my virtual library.  So, I started to read.  It only took a few pages...

The main character sounds less like an English major in college and more like a twelve-year-old swooning over Justin Bieber.  The writing is so bad its existence as a published novel is an insult to those who have studied writing and have spent years honing their craft.  The grammar is terrible, the writing atrocious.  Exclamation marks are in abundance, which is a mark of a writer who tried to show emphasis for a feeling that they couldn't express in, well, words.

Those who love to read are well aware of book hangovers.  But most often it is the good book hangover we experience.  The time after we've just finished a book that has left us so emotionally drained we can't think of starting another book for days.  Most recently, for me it was Vanessa Diffenbaugh's The Language of Flowers.  Although I didn't read all of Fifty Shades (I couldn't, I just couldn't, I tell you!), I had a bad book hangover for two days.  I found myself walking around the house muttering incoherently to myself about how bad the book was.  And when the trailer for the film would come on TV, I felt the strong need to vomit.  Confused, perplexed as to how in the world it ever made it into print.

But I think what bothers me most is that there are women out there who love this book and are quite outspoken about it.  Again, it's not the sex (or type of sex I should say), but about the quality of how the book was written.  I didn't get as far as the BDSM, so I can't say anything about that, but it's a book of erotica poorly written.  Is this what we want the world we think is sexy?  A virgin who acts all giggly and can't get over how Christian Grey looked at her and how he wants to take her for a cup of coffee? This book doesn't deserve any of the attention it is getting and I'm embarrassed that there are women out there supporting it.