When I was eleven I read The Exorcist; everyone was reading it. By the time I turned the last page I was paralyzed with terror. It wasn't just the story that scared me; the book itself felt like a repository of evil. I was too frightened to throw it away—I thought it might retaliate. So I put it on my bookshelf and I placed two of my favorite books, Black Beauty and Island of the Blue Dolphins, on either side. These books were filled with goodness, courage and light. I believed they would neutralize the sinister forces emanating from The Exorcist's glowing black and green spine, and so they did.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
How to exorcise your literary demons
When I was eleven I read The Exorcist; everyone was reading it. By the time I turned the last page I was paralyzed with terror. It wasn't just the story that scared me; the book itself felt like a repository of evil. I was too frightened to throw it away—I thought it might retaliate. So I put it on my bookshelf and I placed two of my favorite books, Black Beauty and Island of the Blue Dolphins, on either side. These books were filled with goodness, courage and light. I believed they would neutralize the sinister forces emanating from The Exorcist's glowing black and green spine, and so they did.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
At least you found a healthy solution. I would have buried the evil book in my bedsprings and quivered in terror for the next 5 years.
Oh, I love this. Such hopefulness, and of course I love books.
I once had a horrible book in my possession- not about anything evil but a badly written novel. I swear it gave it away or threw it out ten times and yet it would turn up on my shelf again and again, even when we moved.
Finally I got rid of it. I haven't seen it since ;)
This is a great post.
Elementary, my dear: A badly written novel is its own kind of evil. I suspect you haven't seen the last of that book.
Coop, you subscribe to the "Keep your good books close, but keep your bad books closer" philosophy?
Post a Comment