A WICKED UPDATE

Well, I'm past the stubborn point of no return! Nine days after my wicked blog of WICKED, I am finally over halfway finished with the book (just slightly....page 212) so I can't stop now. But to misquote the Wicked Witch of the West in the movie WIZARD OF OZ, "My brain is melting. It's melting!"

The only reason I'm sticking with it is so I can write a review of WICKED for my monthly "Book Beat" column in the local newspaper. A few years ago the editor, a former student of mine, and Library Director Lady, a longtime friend of mine, gently tugged at my writing hand and asked me to be in charge of the column. I thought it would be fun to do as long as other members of Friends of the Library would take turns and help me out, but you know how that goes. So far, I've been the only contributor.

I've tried to review a variety of books. Last month it was a sports autobiography and right now I'm working on a review about some kids' series called "Chillermania." I got through its MISSOURI MADHOUSE edition in about 30 minutes...which makes up for a little bit of the valuable time I'm losing with WICKED. "Oh, what a world. Oh, what a world."

Every one of my reviews the past two years has been positive. We don't want to scare away people from using the library, you know. But rules are to be broken and I'm already thinking about what how scathing I should be with WICKED. Or maybe I should really challenge myself and write something that makes this book sound likes it's the best thing since indoor plumbing.

That's what keeps me going--page after miserable page. The review. I'm kind of like Dorothy, Toto, and Co. I'm on a personal mission and can't turn back. To toss in the white flag now would be to admit defeat. As the Wicked Witch might say, "No book is going to destroy my beautiful wickedness." Not even WICKED.

(P.S. to Angela: Thanks for your valuable advice, but I have to keep going. I've been cursed and can't quit, no matter how painful each page may be.)