"Date a girl who reads. Date a girl who spends her money on books instead of clothes. She has problems with closet space because she has too many books. Date a girl who has a list of books she wants to read, who has had a library card since she was twelve.
Find a girl who reads. You’ll know that she does because she will always have an unread book in her bag.She’s the one lovingly looking over the shelves in the bookstore, the one who quietly cries out when she finds the book she wants. You see the weird chick sniffing the pages of an old book in a second hand book shop? That’s the reader. They can never resist smelling the pages, especially when they are yellow.
She’s the girl reading while waiting in that coffee shop down the street. If you take a peek at her mug, the non-dairy creamer is floating on top because she’s kind of engrossed already. Lost in a world of the author’s making. Sit down. She might give you a glare, as most girls who read do not like to be interrupted. Ask her if she likes the book.
Buy her another cup of coffee.
Let her know what you really think of Murakami. See if she got through the first chapter of Fellowship. Understand that if she says she understood James Joyce’s Ulysses she’s just saying that to sound intelligent. Ask her if she loves Alice or she would like to be Alice.
It’s easy to date a girl who reads. Give her books for her birthday, for Christmas and for anniversaries. Give her the gift of words, in poetry, in song. Give her Neruda, Pound, Sexton, Cummings. Let her know that you understand that words are love. Understand that she knows the difference between books and reality but by god, she’s going to try to make her life a little like her favorite book. It will never be your fault if she does.
She has to give it a shot somehow.
Lie to her. If she understands syntax, she will understand your need to lie. Behind words are other things: motivation, value, nuance, dialogue. It will not be the end of the world.
Fail her. Because a girl who reads knows that failure always leads up to the climax. Because girls who understand that all things will come to end. That you can always write a sequel. That you can begin again and again and still be the hero. That life is meant to have a villain or two.
Why be frightened of everything that you are not? Girls who read understand that people, like characters, develop. Except in the Twilightseries.
If you find a girl who reads, keep her close. When you find her up at 2 AM clutching a book to her chest and weeping, make her a cup of tea and hold her. You may lose her for a couple of hours but she will always come back to you. She’ll talk as if the characters in the book are real, because for a while, they always are.
You will propose on a hot air balloon. Or during a rock concert. Or very casually next time she’s sick. Over Skype.
You will smile so hard you will wonder why your heart hasn’t burst and bled out all over your chest yet. You will write the story of your lives, have kids with strange names and even stranger tastes. She will introduce your children to the Cat in the Hat and Aslan, maybe in the same day. You will walk the winters of your old age together and she will recite Keats under her breath while you shake the snow off your boots.
Date a girl who reads because you deserve it. You deserve a girl who can give you the most colorful life imaginable. If you can only give her monotony, and stale hours and half-baked proposals, then you’re better off alone. If you want the world and the worlds beyond it, date a girl who reads.
My family took a trip to NYC over spring break, and after looking at the pictures when we got back, I realized that what we had basically done was gone on a food tour of the city. And also stopped at Carlo's Bakery on the way. We waited in line for about an hour and 45 minutes to get through the Cake Boss bakery, but I would have to say it was worth it. We ended up with eclairs, chocolate cake with chocolate mousse and a strawberry, lobster tails, chocolate cream puffs, chocolate and peanut butter cupcakes, and red velvet cupcakes. And everything was great.
After Carlo's, my favorite place by far was Crumbs, a cupcake bakery. I had some sort of extremely chocolate cupcake that had hot fudge in the middle. It was glorious.
On our last day, we were looking for Fat Witch Bakery, which our travel agent had recommended. We found it in the Chelsea Market, and we started to wish that we had gone there earlier. The Fat Witch brownies turned out to be a disappointment, but the rest of Chelsea Market was not. It was Ash Wednesday and my mom, being the good Catholic she is, was fasting. It was torture for her. Everywhere in Chelsea Market was full of great smelling food and it had what seemed like ten bakeries. It was also just a really cool place, that had an industrial feel.
We hit up the Empire State Building as well, and at the perfect time as the sun was setting.
My mom and I saw "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" with Daniel Radcliffe. It was still in previews, and it was great. I've always loved musicals and I've always loved Daniel Radcliffe, so it seems like the perfect combination. He made such a good Finch, and I was really impressed that he could sing and dance. Also, my mom was shocked by how short he was, especially compared to John Larroquette (who was also great).
I love the red carpet. I've been watching coverage of the red carpet on E! since I was little. I tend to have a lot of opinions about, so here are a few from this year's awards season...
Cate Blanchett in Givenchy Couture at the
83rd Annual Academy Awards
Hailee Steinfeld in Custom Marchesa at the
83rd Annual Academy Awards
Florence Welch in Givenchy Couture at the
53rd Annual Grammy Awards
Kelly Osbourne in Tadashi Soji at the
53rd Annual Grammy Awards
Anne Hathaway in Armani Prive at the
68th Annual Golden Globe Awards
Leighton Meester in Burberry Porsum at the
68th Annual Golden Globe Awards
