Tales from the Bed

It's been a long time since I picked up a book and read it from beginning to end... intentionally. It's always been a school thing so when that whole phase in my life was over well...I stopped really reading. It's not like I never read a single thing since my college days, but I somehow found it difficult to choose a piece of literature that striked my interest to the point when I just couldn't put it down. I mean, with a genuine desire to want to see what happens as I turn each page. It seems silly, I know. Kinda corny? Maybe. But shit, it's the damn truth.

So there I was at Borders in Santa Monica. After walking through the mall and onto the pier, my boyfriend and I decided to see what was new at the bookstore. I usually go to check out the stationary or some overly-priced journal on display while he browses through the actual books. But this time, I happened to glance at the lil' wooden table down front. A picture of a single, white bed with two pillows caught my eye. Big, bold letters above it read, "Tales from the Bed." Hmmm...

A National Bestseller. Wow. A memoir. Interesting.

And no girls it's not one of those kind of stories where you'll need to run to the bathroom everytime to change your underwear! Jenifer is diagnosed with ALS (a fatal disease that effects your motor neurons), basically your brain will slowly lose its ability to communicate with your muscles. And although this is a serious condition with an unknown cure, Jenifer told it in a way that really draws the reader in. The minute you pick it up and read the first few lines, it seems as though you're just hearing about her crazy morning run about the city. You don't feel sympathy for a poor, lonely person who is sick and tired of being runned-down. It doesn't even get to the heavy stuff at all in the beginning. Jenifer simply introduces herself to you. She talks about music, food, her bond with her sisters, work, going to the gym, just everyday stuff. Even The Muffin Shop was given life through her words.

You feel her character living and breathing inside of you.

It is just so exquisitely charming and interestingly put together that I just sat on the floor, in the corner of the bookstore and read the first 50 pages as if I've always been reading for fun. And it feels wonderful to be inspired again.