'The Corrections'

This was a labor of love.

I first bought this book at a used bookstore about eight or nine years ago. I went to my girlfriend's house and found that A) she wasn't home and B) I couldn't get in the house.

I don't remember why I did this or why I didn't go somewhere (which included my apartment) but I instead decided to take my new book and lounge in the back part of my vehicle and do a little light reading. Size aside, it doesn't take long to find out this isn't going to be a very easy read. Not that it addressed themes or subjects that were difficult to decipher. In the simplest way, Jonathan Franzen made this story of a somewhat dysfunctional Midwest family hard to sink your teeth into.

I think I got about 10 pages in, my girlfriend (probably) returned home and I didn't pick the book back up until this year. Then again, it's taken me, honestly, 10 months to get through this book. And it's good. Once I really got into it, I cruised through it.

However, I can't quite not think about that dumb day when I thought I'd tackle The Corrections in the back seat of my car.

Since that day, I've been to Europe twice, gotten married (to the girlfriend I was waiting on), had a child who has just turned six, gotten Franzen's latest novel for Christmas, read probably another 300 books and voted for two different presidents from two different parties.