To the outsider, SuperWoman hasn’t changed at all due to her reading diet. She is still using her laser eyes to watch the goings on in the neighborhood, like the wolf-dog who miraculously gets out of his front door and wanders around the street, or the mail carrier who keeps changing his sex from one day to the next. Zip-up outfits? Who knows what spies her government has planted in blue short-sleeved shirts adorned with the U.S. Postal Service insignia.
She lives the life of a suburban mom, pretending to sleep as TalkMonster taps her on the shoulder in the morning to watch the Disney channel in bed. She drinks coffee, drops her kids off at summer camp, fights evil, showers, and then picks them up. In the evenings, she and SuperHusband sit down to dinner to the squeaks and squeals of lowly children who can’t bear to see anything but dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets on their plates.
But this not reading business is hard on SuperWoman. Her boss, Amaza, is getting pissed that she isn’t briefed on the latest villain statistics. SuperWoman wants to read a book by a mortal, a long one with a pretty cover that she can carry around with her like a paper security blanket. The first time she realized she was inadvertently planning an evening of reading, only to recognize that she couldn’t, she was struck by a curly terror. She would have to resort to staring off into the dust of her living room, the yellow spots on her ceiling. Darn you, Julia Cameron! Might you be from the underworld?
Needless to say, this two and a half days of reading deprivation has been hard on SuperWoman, and she’s not even halfway to the end. What harm is a little reading going to do? Why did she get herself into this mess? She’s never neglected her job of withering evil demons with pointy fingernails simply because she is on the last chapter of a novel. Really.
Ah, but she has rebelled, if only a little. She’s read her half-mortal children stories before naps. Great tales of The Backyardigans looking for missing jewels! She also googled important information, like the plumber’s phone number! She’s considered, but hasn’t yet, getting a book on CD to listen to! What do you think of that, Cameron?
Writing (SuperWoman’s grand ambition) hasn’t become easier, much to her chagrin. She has a new story she’s working on about a female utopia, but she still doesn’t half the energy she needs to finish it. She’s still tired after lunch and refereeing her children’s unstructured playtime, wherein they make her living room a moving fort.
She’s also become unusually hungry, which is a hassle, since the Super Household is trying to adhere to a tight budget. Superheroes just don’t get paid what they used to.
SuperHusband is quite happy with this week’s project, however. He can go to sleep without her fluorescent book light getting in his eyes.
Will SuperWoman make it to the end of the week? What baked good will she get her hands on next?
Until next time….
When you’re troubled,
and you’re lonely
SuperWoman is here
to save you from your worry
(If she’s not hiding in the closet with a cupcake.)
–SuperWoman
The SuperWoman Chronicles
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
The more I read from SuperWoman, the more I love her. Her adventures could easily be a book!
Does proof-reading your own posts count? ;) That must be hard. I don’t think people realize just how much they usually read. A week without blog reading? No thanks! I hope you make it!
Ahhhh, superwoman. Much I could say, but alas I will not. You are almost at the end, and I commend you for trying. You are a better woman than just for being willing to give it a go (and I’m still hoping you aren’t upset with me?).
I have tried to stop reading, following your advice in several posts ( for writing inspiration) and, simply, I couldn´t. I felt like an addict craving for drugs. Oh. my. God!!!!
It’s much easier to do, I think (but by no means easy) when you’re reading The Artist’s Way and working on your writing. The first couple of days, I felt like an addict, too. I almost caved two days in. But after five days, I started to see the effects. Now I feel like a recovering addict, kind of. :)
(And idea for you–if you try it and find yourself having a hard time not reading, you can write about your feelings and see if you work out what it is exactly you’re looking for in books.)