impressions

It's important to keep in mind that in many ways, I grew up utterly sheltered. My only experience of much of the world came through books, and my mom even tried to restrict that- hiding the judy blooms my god-moher gave me, et cetera. It was impossible to bring such books home. I'd sit obscured in the stacks at the library, snatching chapters of forbidden books before taking acceptable ones home. And so, at some point when I was 12 or 13, I found Swordspoint. The idea that two boys would be lovers was... it felt delicious, and subversive, and compelling. It felt dangerous. I loved the book, and the taste of it stayed with me, for nearly two decades. And so when Claire handed me the sequel to it the other night, I devoured it. No, one can't go back to one's childhood. But books are a lovely way to visit.

In other news, it is a new semester and I have an entirely satisfactory flirtation in train. This pleases me.