The Start of it All

 Up until a few hours ago, I didn't even have a book for this Creative Writing Honors assignment. Luckily, I ran into a fellow classmate at an after school club, and after complaining to her that I didn't yet know what book I was going to commit myself to, she pulled out this book, The Rum Diary out of her backpack and handed it to me. It looked interesting enough, the cover shows this black and white picture of a man in a pair of sunglasses (Johnny Depp?), and it informed me that it was now a major motion picture. But to be honest, I think it was just the word 'rum' in the title. 

 It's embarrassing to admit I don't remember the last time I picked up a book on my own and read it without an essay or a project coming after it. It's especially sad because I used to read all the time. My mom delighted in the fact that she had to go to the library to pick up more books on a weekly basis for her daughter. I wonder when it all changed. I've come to realize in the past that there is a certain skill one must possess to be a good reader, and I believe I had this skill. I don't know if I still really do. And that scares me. Will it come back if I start reading again? Is it like riding a bike, where after a few pedals, my brain will suddenly remember and it'll be like I never stopped riding? I guess we'll see.

 The purpose of this assignment is to read a contemporary novel and notice the writing styles and techniques the author uses and then try to use some in our own writing. I'm a little excited to see how this will turn out. I personally think it'll go well. I don't really see how it could go wrong, anyway. Happy reading!