Blog Post #1: Wicked by Gregory Maguire

In class it took me about 20 minutes to read 15 pages.  The fantasy genre is difficult for me, and I am often distracted when I read in class because I am also trying to pay attention to whether or not students are on task.  As a result, I often end up re-reading sentences and paragraphs multiple times.  At home, I might read faster, but I haven't timed myself there yet.

This week I read some of Wicked on the couch in my living room.  My brain can't focus on words on the page if I can hear other words around me, so those I have to minimize.  When I read, it usually looks like this:

Lying on my right side, I clutched my book in my left hand and tucked my right hand under my pillow.  I held the book close to my face so that it's almost like I've got blinders on.  This way, I have a direct view into the world painted with the words on the page.  Since it was chilly this week, I also curled up with a comforter, pale green and poofy.  Because Penelope cannot resist the blanket, before long, she was circling in the routine she performs before settling in for quality cuddle time.  Beyond the immediate silence, I hear Penelope purring and the distant blasts of Battlefield 4 my husband is playing in the other room.  Once in a while I'll also hear a "A tank!! Jason, there's a tank!!", but other than that the house is hushed.

I'm having a hard time picturing what is happening in my book.  There is a Time/Dragon/Clock/Idol thing, a baby with green skin, a stranger with red skin, elves and other oddities.  These things don't exist in real life, so I am having trouble connecting what I'm reading with things I've seen before.  Since I can't do that, I have to create each image from scratch.  For me, that process is much more difficult than reading the realistic books I'm used to.  Further, I usually read books that occur in lengthy series (20+ books in a series!).  When I read those, my mind calls up the images I've already created for the characters and places in the books.  Beyond that, I am enjoying losing myself in a completely opposite world for a while.  This has been a very stressful few weeks for me, so I appreciate escaping to the world of the Munchkinlanders for a while.

I'm not convinced this book is for me, but I started it yesterday, and I'm 48 tiny-print pages in, which is pretty impressive for me.  Images are becoming more clear as I go, so I think I'll be able to stick with it.  More than anything, I think that what will drive me to follow through is my desire to know what all of the hype is about.  People LOVE this book, this story, this musical.  I'm hoping to see what is so great.  As of right now, I'm pretty grossed out by the rank descriptions of dirty characters.  It's kind of a minor aspect of the book, but it's something that is really bothering me.  Especially with the baby.  She can't get wet--we all know what will happen to the Wicked Witch of the West if she gets wet--so how do they keep her clean?!  All of this has me wondering, what do you people love so much?!  I guess I have another 490 pages to figure it out.