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Stephanie



Last Updated: 7/8/2009

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Gender: Female
Status: In a Relationship
Age: 38
City: Nashville
State: Tennessee
Country: US

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July 9, 2009 - Thursday 

Category: Romance and Relationships
After four hours of watching her across the crowded bar, he finally gets the nerve to approach. She politely responds to his attempts to make conversation and, when he asks for her phone number, she allows him to program it into her cell phone. He leaves, a little unsure about her interest, then waits until the next day to call her.

She doesn't answer.



No biggie. She's probably just busy. So he leaves a casual, 'give me a call' sort of message and begins the wait for a call that will never come.

Why do women do this?

Don't they understand how much courage it takes to get a woman's number? Can't she just answer and tell him what's going on?

I've been told for a man, nothing is worse than the silent treatment. When I was single, I listened to this feedback and, for a brief time, I tried doing what men on my blog wanted me to do. When I wasn't interested in a guy, instead of giving him the silent treatment I'd respond. I'd politely decline and thank him for his interest.



Yeah. That went over REAL well.

It turns out, people don't react well to being rejected. I don't care how much they promise you they can handle it, telling a man, "I'm sorry but you're just not what I'm looking for right now" will only get one response. Something to the tune of, "Well...good luck with THAT, you picky bitch."

Yes, it can get that ugly.

It's the very reason people procrastinate the break-up conversation. Relationships have dragged on for years while one party worked up the nerve to break up with the other. There's the passive-aggressive break-up, where one treats the other like crap in the hopes that person will do the dumping. There's the, 'It's not you, it's me' speech that seems to define our generation. Then there's the ever-popular new trend of breaking up via text, e-mail, or voice mail message.



All of this for ONE purpose and one purpose only. To avoid that 'You know what? I never loved you anyway. Your feet stink and you're bad in bed' conversation they know is coming. Because there are very few documented cases in history of a man going to a woman and saying, "I want to break up" and her simply saying, "Okay" and moving all of her stuff out. It just doesn't happen that way.



So we avoid. We lie. We don't answer the phone. We do everything to put off the inevitable for as long as possible. Because...guess what? If you wait long enough, the earth may explode, thereby eradicating all need to have the conversation in the first place.

For longtime couples, the 'conversation' is inevitable, but for those still in the early stages of dating, I have one piece of advice. Don't listen to these people that say you should let Mr. Dumbo Ears know that, while you appreciated the one cup of Starbucks coffee he bought you on your first little date, there won't be a second date. Those people will try to tell you Mr. Dumbo Ears will take it well but those people will be wrong. Next thing you know, you'll be listening to a man you only spent 45 minutes with tell you every single one of your flaws and all the reasons you'll be alone the rest of your life.

Is honesty the best policy? Not in dating. Not by a long shot.
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July 8, 2009 - Wednesday 

Category: Romance and Relationships
Do you keep ruining potential relationships, before they even have the chance to get off the ground?

Do you hear that biological clock tick-tick-ticking away while you suffer through one bad date after another?

Do you continuously have great dates, only to have it fizzle out soon after?

It's possible YOU could be the problem.

Women - I'm speaking to you today. Women repeatedly do things, early on, to ruin their chances with Mr. Right. Things that are perfectly normal, considering what they've been through in the past. Things that make them look psycho or, at the very least, a tad bit clingy to the men they're interested in.

So stop, right now, and ask yourself: ARE YOU TRYING TOO HARD?

No?

Okay, I'll ask again without the caps. Are you trying too hard? Be honest. You don't have to answer here, just ask yourself the question and be prepared to ruminate on the answer for a while.

Do you approach each date, sales pitch in hand, ready to convince him to choose to spend the rest of his life with you? Do you sit by the phone, eagerly awaiting his every phone call and flipping out when the phone doesn't ring for a while? Are you so sure you're going to lose him that you put up with untold amounts of bad behavior when deep down you fantasize about telling him to stuff it?

"It's hard to find a good man," you'll say. "When you find one, you have to grab onto him."

While that's true, from the male perspective it's not so easy to find a good woman either. In fact, at this very moment, in your very city, there is an incredible man. A man you'd love to date...a man who would love to date you. But you have to believe you're a great catch before you can find each other.

Why? Because if you don't, you'll be working your 'convincing' magic on him. Like animals, men can smell desperation from a mile away. (So can women, to be fair.) Desperation is very unattractive. You know what's attractive? Walking around with your head held high, knowing what you have to offer, and letting HIM convince YOU to date him.

Or you can keep doing what you've been doing. But...as the old saying goes, "If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you always got."
3:59 PM 
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July 7, 2009 - Tuesday 

Category: Life
I was off work Friday. My boyfriend had to work. After going through the ordeal of grocery shopping and cleaning the house, there was nothing to do but avoid writing.

So I flipped on the TV.

Comedy Central was having a marathon of my absolute favorite thing to watch:



I recall from adolescence that being home on a workday can be the most annoying thing in the world. Back in those days, we were forced to choose between a handful of channels, most of which aired cheesy soap operas. That was how we all ended up believing THIS was good TV:



But now we have choices. A channel for everything. Comedy channels, reality TV channels, movie channels, women's channels, men's channels, DOGs' channels...

And still not a thing to watch.

That was how I found myself watching four hours of stand-up comedy while I cleaned. Thank God for the marathon, otherwise I might have been relegated to crappy courtroom reality...



Crappy female "bonding time" talk shows...



Or crappy Lifetime movies written by monkeys with crayons...



Whatever happens, I just want to be spared any TV programming involving Tori Spelling. Got that?

ANYWAY, so there I am, enjoying my stand-up when I realize every single commercial break, the same commercial airs. I'm not exaggerating here. It was something I observed for the remainder of the weekend, actually. You ever notice something, then suddenly realize you're noticing it EVERYWHERE? Yep, that's what happened here.

It doesn't matter the time of day. It doesn't matter the day of the week. It doesn't matter if what you're watching is sports, Lifetime movies, or the five o'clock newscast. You STILL get the same commercial over...

and over...

and over again.

Does anyone know which commercial I'm referring to?

I'll give you a hint. Santa.

This guy:



And a part of the male anatomy that apparently is failing for the vast majority of our television-watching population.

ENZYTE. Finally I looked at my boyfriend and asked what the heck is up with these commercials. "Is it that serious a problem?"



He wouldn't know, but we came to the conclusion that it must be. Yes, our population is aging and yes, our population needs help. More than they need to stay warm with their Snuggies in the wintertime. See...as winter turned into summer, the Snuggie commercials were replaced by this topical solution that promises to make all the women in your office want to sit in your lap because of the permanent bulge you have there...



Say WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?

While I'm still struggling to figure out why a commercial set at Christmastime is getting so much airtime, I'm even MORE struggling to figure out why anyone would believe, even for a second, that creepy Bob and his erection would have women lining up to sit on his lap. Clue to the clueless: Women stay away from guys like that. But whatever gets people to fork over money for a product that doesn't even work.

Yep, you heard that right. Type Enzyte scam into Google and be prepared to spend your afternoon reading. FIRST of all, the company was sued in 2007 for giving consumers the impression it would make things grow. (You know what particular 'thing' I'm referring to.) As part of the lawsuit, Enzyte decided to change its claims to reflect that the pill is designed "specifically for men who are experiencing increasing difficulty in achieving consecutive erections."

Ahem. Consecutive?

Moving on...

The company's founder is in PRISON. PRISON, folks. 93 counts of conspiracy, fraud and money laundering. The company was bought out by a new company who apparently has stock in every television network out there. Never have I seen a product advertised so much.

Does Enzyte really work? That's hard to say. The company promises "firmer, fuller erections" but it would be hard to disprove these claims. Is anyone really going to come forward and challenge that? And if they did, how would they prove it didn't work?

The burden of proof should be on Enzyte, but it's not. Enzyte doesn't have to prove a thing. Natural remedies aren't regulated by the FDA, so there's no testing. No documented cases. Just a whole lot of commercials that apparently have people handing over their credit card numbers for those "free samples" in droves.

All I know is, that Santa commercial has gotten REALLY old. I can see buying a couple of spots per program but every single commercial break for four hours straight is a bit much. Of course, one might argue that it prompted me to write this blog...thereby giving them even more publicity.

Score one for Enzyte.
3:04 PM 
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July 6, 2009 - Monday 

Category: Romance and Relationships
When I was a child, I believed in fairy tales. I truly believed, one day, a prince would come along and rescue me.



Okay, even then I knew he wouldn't be an actual prince. But I still had an image in my mind. He would be strong. Intelligent. And incredibly handsome.

He would be the type of man who could slay dragons. When he put his arms around me, I'd feel safe. I'd feel protected.

I searched. Several times, I thought I'd found him but it was never quite...right. I never felt that sense of security that I'd always dreamed of. I began to give up hope. Fairy tales weren't reality. It was time to wake up and realize real men weren't heroes.

Then I met him.

True love is partly how you feel about the other person and partly how that other person makes you feel. When I'm with him, I feel like that beautiful princess. I feel loved, cherished. I feel like we can get through anything...as long as we have each other.

I wish, for just five minutes, he could see himself as I see him. He'd see that he's the most incredibly intelligent, handsome, charismatic man I've ever met. If he could see himself through my eyes...he'd realize what a hero he truly is.

He recently joked that I should write him into one of my novels. He didn't realize there's a whole lot of him in every hero I write about. So why is it so hard to write how I feel about him?

I'm a WRITER.

Ours wasn't a conventional romance. There were plenty of bumps in the road...and still are. Yet I never imagined I could love someone so deeply for so long. It seems my love grows deeper with each passing day.

I love the way he says 'I love you' at random moments.

I love the way he makes even the most mundane things fun.

I love the fact that everyone who meets him instantly likes him.

I love the way our gazes always seem to find each other, even when we're surrounded by chaos. I love the LOVE I see in his eyes when he looks at me...and knowing that love is reflected in my own.

I love the way his arms feel around me. The way he smells. The way his hand fits around mine.

I love so many other things I can't write here...because they're private...and because it's more information than any of you want to know anyway!

Most of all, I just wanted to say I love him. And to figure out why this blog was the most difficult of anything I've ever written.

Maybe some things just can never be put into words?
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July 4, 2009 - Saturday 

Category: Life
This blog was originally posted in 2006. I repost it every Independence Day as a tribute to those who have fought for our freedom.

We sat in the middle of Chicago O'Hare airport, a small group of people just trying to get to Nashville. Our flight had been delayed for two and a half hours and people were restless, tired, and more than a little annoyed.

I sat there, suffering from a sinus infection and pinkeye, exhausted from the eight-hour flight that had preceded all of this. But I couldn't even think about complaining. I, one of the least patient people I know, just sat there quietly waiting.

My inspiration came in the form of two men sitting on the outskirts of all of this. They too were anxious to get home. They too had been jerked around by American Airlines for the majority of the afternoon. But did they complain? No, they sat there quietly in their military fatigues, listening to the rest of us with our petty whining.

They wore desert fatigues and I overheard one of them mention they'd been in Kuwait. In Nashville, their wives and children waited anxiously at the airport with no information about the plane these men were supposed to be on. At six p.m., Nashville wiped our flight off the boards.

At seven p.m. our four o'clock flight finally boarded -- at a different gate, on a different plane than was originally scheduled. We sat at the gate for another hour as the airline attempted to find all our luggage. Somehow they had misplaced it.

The military men were at the back of the plane, where a man was having a temper tantrum about the delay. "I've been traveling since this morning," he grumbled. "I just want to get home."

Someone asked the military men how long they'd been traveling home. "Three days," one of them answered. That was all he said.

I couldn't help but think how spoiled we all are. These two men sit out in the hot desert, roughing it, risking their lives for us. Yet we can't even handle a few hours in an air conditioned airport -- an airport that has a Chili's, Starbucks, and shops filled with books and magazines -- without complaining.

I spent a week away from home and I know how homesick I was. And I don't even have children or a spouse to miss. During my week away I had access to food, a comfortable place to sleep, and never once did I fear for my life. But even in that, I saw how pampered we Americans are compared to Europeans -- how easy it is to find anything you could possibly want at just about any hour of the day in America. Our drinks are refilled for free, our portions in restaurants overflow, and the price of all this luxury is much less than it would be in other countries. In short, we are all very, very fortunate.

I guess it took this experience to make me appreciate the things we all take for granted. Things we wouldn't even have if not for the men who have fought for our country throughout history. The men who continue to fight for our country today. So next time you're waiting a slight bit too long in your air-conditioned car for your Gordita or your doctor's office leaves you in the cushy chairs in the waiting room with the latest copy of People for over an hour, think of those men. Imagine yourself sitting out in the desert with a gun, waiting for a reason to have to use it. Hoping you don't ever have to have a reason to use it. And maybe, just maybe, your wait won't seem so bad after all.
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July 3, 2009 - Friday 

Category: Romance and Relationships
Why is it that the nicest people often fall for the meanest?

Is it yin and yang?

Is it that weak people need strong to pull them through?

We don't seem to notice as much when the woman is a doormat and the man is the jerk. Maybe it seems natural, since women are nurturers. What does seem odd is the hen-pecked man who just ducks into a corner and takes it.



I'm constantly hearing men complain that they can't seem to find a nice woman. Time after time they become interested in someone, only to find they've quickly entered the dreaded FRIEND ZONE. There's a reason for that.

Nice guys are great. They really are. But there's a difference between a nice guy...



and a guy with low self-esteem.



Ladies, YOU know what I'm talking about.

Having self-confidence doesn't mean treating people like crap. You can have self-confidence and be a generally nice person. The problem for us women comes when a man can't seem to make a decision. He has no backbone. He's a complete wimp.

And, inevitably, guys like that end up with women like this:



Women who beat them down...daily. Why? Because overbearing, evil women love guys like this. They deliberately seek them out. But, even worse...these women treat these men like this because they CAN.

People take offense at the term "you train others how to treat you," but it's true. Whether it's a friend, co-worker, employee, or someone you're dating, the beginning days of your relationship are experimental. A controlling woman pushes a man as far as she can before he puts his foot down. If he lets her walk all over him, in time she loses respect for him...and the treatment gets worse.



Women like that give good women a bad name. These men eventually come to the conclusion that all women are nagging, bossy hags and give up on love altogether. What they don't realize is the problem isn't the women...

The problem is the choices they're making. The problem is that, until each and every one of them grow a pair, they will continue to only attract women who are looking for doormats.

It's just tough the rest of us to watch.

Have you ever watched a woman totally emasculate the man she's with?

How did it make you feel?

BLOGGER OF THE WEEK



♥Sassy Sara♥ is a 28-year-old full-time student and mom who has a definite writing talent. Check out her recent blog about alcohol addiction and you'll be as blown away by her writing as I am! If you like what you read, SUBSCRIBE.
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July 2, 2009 - Thursday 

Category: Fashion, Style, Shopping
When we first see it, we assume it will be a passing fancy. Once you're around a while, you begin to realize things tend to come and go as a new generation comes of age. But there are some things we THOUGHT were passing fads that have stuck with us decade after decade.

Some things, it seems, will NEVER go away.

I remember in the late 80s, predicting rap music was a passing fad. Rap music actually became a genre of its own, evolving to keep up with the times.



How many of you remember when reality TV began to take over TV as we knew it? One minute we were all tuning in for the latest game show the entire COUNTRY was watching...



The next moment we saw Darva Conger marry a millionaire on national TV, backing out of it a few days later. Then, without warning, the TV landscape EXPLODED with reality shows. Survivor, Big Brother, Fear Factor... Soon every cable network began producing reality shows.



An entire NETWORK was created to replay all of the reality shows out there. Soon we were bombarded with reality shows and wondering what happened to actors reading lines from a script. Was Ed Harris's character in The Truman Show prophetic when he said, back in 1998, "We've become bored with watching actors give us phony emotions?" Was reality TV the new frontier?

No, we all said. It's just a passing phase. Reality TV will last about a decade, then turn over in favor of "the next big thing." Survivor premiered in 2000. Nine years ago. If reality TV is only to last a decade, it'd better die soon.

Reality TV isn't going anywhere, folks. Not with the shows being so cheap to produce. Even I, who claim to never watch reality TV, will watch with half an eye as my boyfriend tunes into Mythbusters. And I usually watch with fascination at the pitches on Pitchmen (R.I.P. Billy Mays). Reality TV or documentary? Sometimes there's a fine line...

Clothing trends definitely come and go but one trend I thought would be gone long ago was this one:



An urban legend circulated that this trend started in prisons as a way for one prisoner to let other prisoners know he was homosexual. Interesting, but not true. Snopes it. While it did get its start in the prison system, it had nothing to do with signaling homosexuality. Prisoners aren't allowed to wear belts, combined with the fact that prison garb is often issued a couple of sizes too large. It's a prison thing. Somehow that doesn't make me feel better about it.

One trend that DID go away was that of teenage girls wearing low-rise jeans with high-rise thongs. That trend was replaced with the new trend of girls going sans underwear. (That's gotta be uncomfortable in jeans!) I'm not sure what the trend is now, but I haven't seen a "whale tail" in a while.

Okay, now it's your turn. Name something YOU thought was a trend that appears to be here to stay?
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July 1, 2009 - Wednesday 

Category: Romance and Relationships
Today we're going to stretch as writers...with a challenge. Do you dare try it?

The challenge is to write about what it is like to date or live with you from the other person's perspective. It's about putting all of your flaws out there for the world to see. So read mine, chuckle and snort...but YOU are next. At the end of this blog is my challenge to every single one of you.

It's Not Easy Dating Me
by All the Men Stephanie Has Loved

The first thing you notice about Stephanie is that she appears to have it all together. She's the one everyone comes to for advice...but what no one really realizes is, deep down, she is just as lost as everyone.

She's an odd combination. Her writing makes her introverted, which can cause her to go deep inside herself and not let anyone in. It's very rare she lets anyone ever really get to know her. I'm pretty sure no one ever has. If someone really got inside, they might be able to hurt her...so she keeps the world at a distance.

But then there's this extroverted side of Stephanie that longs for attention. That's the side that gets a guy in trouble. Stephanie will often go hours without saying a word while her resentment builds and builds. Then suddenly she explodes. You see, it's not that she just suffers...she wants the world to know she suffers. Particularly the man she's with. Ninety percent of everything she gets upset has something to do with attention.

If there's one thing Stephanie doesn't like, it's being invisible. Especially to the man she loves. When life's many distractions cause a man to neglect her for any period of time, she begins to feel taken for granted. Eventually she gives up on trying to get his attention and retreats back into herself.

On the flip side of all of that, Stephanie is a strong, spirited, loving partner. Despite what was mentioned above, she is a very independent person. Almost too independent at times. It seems she WANTS attention, just not too much attention. She fears if anyone puts too much of a spotlight on her, he will see her flaws. So as soon as she's in that spotlight, she deflects it. It's a frustrating contrast...most of the time a man has no idea how to respond to any of it.

All in all, she's just broken. But aren't we all, when we really look at ourselves?

Okay, your turn. Write your blog and let me know once it's posted. I'll compile a list for the bottom of this blog.



***YOUR BLOGS***

My flaws.... Mr. Crowley's Better Half

I'm a Not So Open Book ♥Sassy Sara♥

It’s not easy dating me…… A Challenge from Stephanie. Good Witch or Bad Witch?

An empath’s guide to living with Niels, The Naked Poet (A challenge by Stephanie) Niels, the naked poet

It's not easy dating me.. Because I'm your lady and you are my man

LIVING WITH AMANDA....IT'S A CHALLENGE @m@nd@ Twisted

Taking Stephanie's Blog Challenge. Jen

Challenge of the Labyrinth: Dating Chris Bodhisattva

Blog dare! "Beshemoth - the shark in the dating pool" Beshemoth

In response to Stephanie's challenge.... ♥♥♥ Sandy ♥♥♥

Living With Me...Tammy unplugged... T@mmy

Cleaning out the closet.....And now I am naked. Go To Hell Kitty

FROM a goddness point of you.... JOANNA

The FLAWS of ME(Stephanie's challenge) ~♥~E~♥~

What Dating me is Like from Someone else's Perspective Alicia

My Wife The Jerk [Corpus] Christie

im not nearly perfect... love never fails

Some don't want to deal with me. ♥Barbara♥

The Breakup (a short story) Paris Love

What it’s like living with my dad . Terry Mc

She wears her heart on her sleeve (encased in a steel shell)... Stephanie's Challenge ǝllǝɥɔɐɹ

Flaws BlackJack

MY FLAWS Moni

Who I am through the eyes of you Zachary

The Stephanie Challenge!! Kate

Dating Tammy (Stephanie's challenge) Tammy ROCKS Fabulous!!!

Could You handle Life with ME?? *MY FLAWS* ♥Ashley♥

10 REASON WHY YOU SHOULDN'T DATE MONICA BRYANT! - Written By Anonymous g0od_m0nica

Who is Eccentricity? - A challenge blog Eccentricity

Me Through The Eyes Of Others ♥Shelly♥

It's Not Easy Dating Me Rob G

It's Not Easy Dating Me

Adventures in Loving....Me Rob G

What it like to date Amy Amy

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June 30, 2009 - Tuesday 

Category: Romance and Relationships
I don't like to eavesdrop. I really don't. In fact, when I'm sitting around waiting somewhere, I prefer silence because usually I have my notepad and pen and am writing.

But every now and then there's some loud-mouth you can't help but listen to. I don't know if they even realize how loud they're being. Last week, I was about 50 feet away from this very type of person. She happened to be speaking to a large group of people who seemed disinterested in what she was saying. She was speaking so loudly, though, EVERYONE had to listen to her.

Which made her conversation writing material.



As I'm listening to this older woman talk about her husband's illnesses I was thinking how sad it was that this could be the beginning of the end. Of course, I couldn't possibly know that, but the whole thing made me think about how we marry someone, share a life together, then eventually our lives become all about doctor's appointments and hospital stays and visits to the pharmacy.

In sickness and in health...


So anyway, as I'm pondering the true meaning of 'til death do we part,' this woman suddenly says something that should shock me, but doesn't.

"I'm going to strangle him before it's all through."

Here's this guy, ailing, and his loving wife is telling everyone around her she wants to kill him. Not literally, of course. And it's nothing personal to her. It's just something everyone seems to say once they reach a certain age.

"I swear, he gets crankier the older he gets."

"If he dies, I'm never marrying again."

"If this doesn't put him in the ground, I will."

When you marry, you're young and in love. You can't imagine living a day of your life without each other. Then, over time, you start to...

HATE each other?

Of course, that's not always the case. And you know, deep down, no matter what any of these older women say about their husbands, they love them. They'll be devastated the day these men are taken from them. Because, generally speaking, women outlive men so it's more than likely going to happen. By the time you're at the doctor every other day, chances are it's going to happen sooner, rather than later.



Right after my divorce I took a part-time job at a department store. There I found myself surrounded by women over 50. Women who had retired from other jobs and were now working as a way to supplement their retirement. Women who had been married, had kids, and were now either divorced or widowed. Women who loved to hear all about my romantic life but had no interest in having anything to do with the opposite sex themselves.

"I lead a full, happy life," one of the women told me one day. "I spent my life cooking and cleaning and taking care of a man. Now I go home, kick up my feet, and thank God I don't have to put up with a damn man."

It's different with the younger generations. Men of my generation were taught to help out around the house. Many of them were raised by single moms and weren't exposed to the father who worked all day, only to come home, plop down on the recliner, and demand for his dinner to arrive as soon as possible.



To me, the life I just described would be similar to working as a maid and waitress to someone. The only difference being that instead of being paid, I'd be provided a house and weekly allowance. Living like that, I could see how the end of that marriage, through death or divorce, would seem a whole lot like freedom. For these women, it's as if they're saying, "I'm retired. No way am I going back to work again."

There's comfort in that. Because the life some of these older women describes sounds downright miserable. There has to be some reason you see so many older women who swear they'll never marry again, while older men seem to remarry within a year after their wives' divorce.

Read the first two chapters of my latest novel, Rode Hard and Put Up Wet, in progress, and if you like it vote for me! You can read it and vote on your cell phone or online. Click on Romance - Contemporary. Mine is the top story:

3:06 PM 
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June 29, 2009 - Monday 

Category: Life
"I've been reading that on my drive to work every day."

Insert friend's gasp. "You're reading behind the wheel?"

I laugh. "No, silly. I'm listening to the audiobook."

Friend (after breathing sigh of relief): "Then you aren't reading it. You're listening to it."

This is an actual conversation I had with someone a couple of years ago. Of course, this was a friend who probably hadn't read a book since Dick and Jane...



But it does pose an interesting question. WHAT is reading, exactly?

My favorite literary agent blog, written by Nathan Bransford, posed this very question Tuesday. Does listening to an audiobook count as reading? The answers, last time I looked, were running about half yes and half no. As I noticed that, I couldn't help but be perplexed. Seriously? Half the people think listening to an audiobook isn't reading?

I am halfway through this book on CD:



Every day, on my way into work and on my way home, I'm having this book read to me. Soon I will finish it, return it to the library, and I will officially have read Hot Shot. If I immediately were to go out and buy the paperback and begin reading it, guess what? Same words I just had read to me. Which means I've already read the book.

If I went on vacation and my boyfriend read a book aloud from the passenger seat, at the end of that vacation will that mean only he has read the book? Why?

Here we get into the definition of the word "read." From Merriam-Webster: "To receive or take in ESPECIALLY by sight or touch." Audio is, so far, excluded from that but couldn't that be because the technology hasn't caught up with the times? At one point, we all read our books this way:



Now we have options. We can read a book on our computer, while we're working out, we can even find a book, buy it, and read it all from the comfort of the passenger seat of our car, thanks to these devices:



Kind of redefines the meaning of the word "book," don't you think?

What do YOU think? Do we need to redefine our thinking to fit modern technology? Or is 'reading' still the art of picking up a book and taking the words in the old-fashioned way? If not, then maybe we should rethink the question, "What was the last book you read?"
3:38 PM 
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