Happy Little Trees

I am pretending I am a reader. I joined a book club and everything. I own books, but then, I wind up watching t.v.

I used to be a reader. As a child, I had my nose in a book all the time. I loved reading. I loved going to the card catalog and finding a book on my favorite topics. In middle school, I focused on realistic fiction on the topics of divorce and eating disorders, then in my early high school years, I switched to Stephen King novels. I would read during the day, on the bus, during school, before bed, or whenever.
editor's note: please no psychological evaluations on author's reading selections

At the age of 15, I fulfilled my dream, like my aunt before me, of becoming a high school cheerleader. I also started adding more and more afterschool activities to my schedule. My life became smashed full of appointments. And the books were left on the shelf gathering dust.

I've tried many times since to pick back up reading, but it hasn't been natural. I have to commit to it. I miss being in the Book It program like in elementary school. For every book I read, I earned a star that got me closer to a personal-size pepperoni pan pizza! Oh dear, I just realized that food is my best motivator!

My bookclub is meeting on Thursday, and so far, I have zero pages read. I had this brilliant idea last night to go to the gym and be one of those people that reads during a workout. I wound up assembling my new mini-trampoline and bouncing for 30 minutes while I finished a mindless movie from 10 years ago.

Maybe I need to reinvent Book It. For every book I read, I can earn a star, and after five stars, I can order a pepperoni pizza. Sounds like a plan! Not a Weight Watchers plan, but a plan, nonetheless.