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I Was Shocked to Find that ‘Reader’s Digest’ is Still Around (and Still Matters)
And that Kevin Costner is on the cover of AARP Magazine
I’m starting to think I was adopted.
In my parents’ house (which I now share with my stepdad since my mom’s passing), I have found the following books: a Bible with three inches of dust on the cover, a book about dog breeds, a biography of NASCAR driver Darrell Waltrip (who retired in 2000), and one copy each of my first two novels (spines unbroken, so clearly never read; mom was like the rest of my “fanbase”). Five books in the entire house. I have more than that in the backseat of my car at any given moment.
Like I said: adopted.
I began correcting this biblio-travesty when I moved in, bringing more bookcases with me than pairs of jeans. Those bookcases and their books, however, are sequestered in my bedroom; to set them up in the living room would require moving two display cases of model racecars, and my stepdad would have another stroke if I even suggested it.
This is not completely new to me. We lived with my mom’s parents when I was growing up and my sainted grandparents never met a Reader’s Digest Condensed Book they didn’t stick on the built-in bookcase that spanned the length of the den. I don’t know if…
