Going Out on a Story
It's the who as much as the how-to that seems impossible.
One evening last week I found myself killing time at the library. I was circling the recent releases where a book cover with a large diamond ring on it caught my attention. Get Serious About Getting Married: 365 Proven Ways to Find Love in Less Than a Year was the bold name and after the flashy ring, how the author could promise ways of finding love in less than a year was what boggled my mind and made me read the back. How could this book promise the recipe for finding a person to marry, and in less than a year? Unimaginable.
But actually, this question was the second thing to go through my mind after reading the cover. The first was simple math; 365 days in a year means if I follow this plan to get married I can write about it on my blog and have a year's worth of posts. Yay...and then reality slowly filtered through my writing assignment glory.
Wait. A. Minute.
What if this book really does work and I, at this time next year, am getting ready to get married, like planning a wedding, not just saying "I love you" to someone else? I've always figured I'd just elope and save myself the hassle of planning, and --who am I kidding-- attending, my own wedding, that is if I ever find a person I'd consider marrying. All this not counting the complete overhaul I'd have to undertake of my personal style, personality, and losing those extra pounds that have been pointed out to me, according to a few of The Ways listed on the back of the book.
A book that promises finding happiness? Happiness and contentment are feelings I can't really imagine in my day to day life, and hardly what I had in mind for my upcoming year. Just as quickly as the book had piqued my interest it lost me with all the messy details and unreality. As it started to slide out of my hand, back between the other wedding books, the plain red cover of a neighbor had me reaching over and moving on. This one making no promises other than to be completely snarky and immediately identifiable. Reassuring me that I'm not a social outcast, for preferring rainy weather, who has a slightly dissatisfied feeling over most things, and that it's perfectly normal to feel like a fraud in most situations.
Ah yes, David Rakoff you brought me back to reality, and what a pleasantly uncomfortable thing it is.
One evening last week I found myself killing time at the library. I was circling the recent releases where a book cover with a large diamond ring on it caught my attention. Get Serious About Getting Married: 365 Proven Ways to Find Love in Less Than a Year was the bold name and after the flashy ring, how the author could promise ways of finding love in less than a year was what boggled my mind and made me read the back. How could this book promise the recipe for finding a person to marry, and in less than a year? Unimaginable.
But actually, this question was the second thing to go through my mind after reading the cover. The first was simple math; 365 days in a year means if I follow this plan to get married I can write about it on my blog and have a year's worth of posts. Yay...and then reality slowly filtered through my writing assignment glory.
Wait. A. Minute.
What if this book really does work and I, at this time next year, am getting ready to get married, like planning a wedding, not just saying "I love you" to someone else? I've always figured I'd just elope and save myself the hassle of planning, and --who am I kidding-- attending, my own wedding, that is if I ever find a person I'd consider marrying. All this not counting the complete overhaul I'd have to undertake of my personal style, personality, and losing those extra pounds that have been pointed out to me, according to a few of The Ways listed on the back of the book.
A book that promises finding happiness? Happiness and contentment are feelings I can't really imagine in my day to day life, and hardly what I had in mind for my upcoming year. Just as quickly as the book had piqued my interest it lost me with all the messy details and unreality. As it started to slide out of my hand, back between the other wedding books, the plain red cover of a neighbor had me reaching over and moving on. This one making no promises other than to be completely snarky and immediately identifiable. Reassuring me that I'm not a social outcast, for preferring rainy weather, who has a slightly dissatisfied feeling over most things, and that it's perfectly normal to feel like a fraud in most situations.
Ah yes, David Rakoff you brought me back to reality, and what a pleasantly uncomfortable thing it is.
posted by Ellen at 5:32 PM
4 Comments:
I believe it was I that happened upon that little treasure at the south street library and slipped it between a few architecture and grad school planning books in your stack, hoping you'd check it out.
Why don't you give it to someone who is desperate to get married, and then we'll find out if it works. I think you probably have to have some motivation. Now who do we know that's desperate. . .
Karen's right; in order for a book like that to work for someone, that person has to already really want to get married. I could be wrong, but I've always figured that people who really want to get married pretty much find their counterparts... and do so.
(I'm also pretty convinced that it's not a goal worthy of overhauling one's personality, style, or weight for... and--at the risk of sounding sappy--we prefer you the way you are.)
You were right about it making an interesting blog though! But, the consequences might just be a bit much...
you should totally make it your blog project, nelle. i mean, what could be more exciting for your rabid readers than watching you experience a 365-day quest for marriage?
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