Let's Cool Things Down

Do you remember the episode of Friends where, when Joey gets scared of a book he’s reading, he puts it in the freezer? Apparently he did that with “The Shining,” which in this episode he has lent to Rachel, and she has lent him “Little Women.” (He asks her if they’re ‘scary little.’)

As Joey approaches an intense part of “Little Women,” he and Rachel have a conversation that goes like this.

Joey: Beth is really, really sick. Jo's there, but I don't think there's anything she can do.
Rachel: Joey?
Joey: Yeah?
Rachel: You want to put the book in the freezer?

That scene came to mind because that’s exactly how I’m feeling right now.

I’m in the last few chapters of “The Time Traveler’s Wife,” and I SO want to put it in the freezer. Not only are we careening towards something climactic and sad, but it’s also ending. I don’t want the book to be over! This is why I love books that come in a series – if they’re good, you know you get to just go right along into the next one and see what happens next. You get to see how the characters fair, or what comes next in their lives. The only downside of the Twilight series for me was that the last book was my favorite, and I was sorry to see it end.

It’s lunch time right now – normally I would be reading until I absolutely HAD to put the book down and get back to work. Instead I’m blogging. The book may not be in the freezer, but it IS back in my desk, and it will not be opened again until tomorrow.

I think.