January 2, 2018
Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life:
This is the Reader's Agreement that I as reader must sign before embarking on this task. It appears on page v., but even before this page, there is a bit more fun. Such as the cover for example. The hard bound book is a glossy sky blue with the title imprinted in Encyclopedia Britanica-ish brown. The spine is in color blocks of orange, hot pink, neon green and yellow like a candy store. The a simple dust jacket covers 3/4ths of the binding; with some text to inform you of what's to come inside this Encyclopedia of Amy Krause Rosenthal's ordinary life.
see also: book jackets
I am going to follow, as best as I can, the Encyclopedic format that AKR used, and will follow her exact subject headings. Sometimes, I will not be able to include much to an entry, and other times, my entry will be completely the opposite of Amy's. I also have/will add some entries not included in Amy's book. see Katie Palmer, Piano teacher. I will be referring to the author as Amy, because after reading this book for the first time, I feel as if I already know her, she is indeed the ordinary girl next door. see Katie Palmer, Piano teacher.
This project is part journal, part compilation of stories to be used for the future, and part Julie and Julia without the food.
Before the title page, she lists how many times certain words appear in the book:
I was not abused, abandoned, or locked up as a child. My parents were not alcoholics, nor were they ever divorced or dead. We did not live in poverty, or in misery, or in an exotic country. I am not a misunderstood genius, a former child celebrity, or the child of a celebrity. I am not a drug addict, sex addict, food addict, or recovered anything. If I indeed had a past life, I have no recollection of who I was.
I have not survived against all odds.
I have not lived to tell.
I have not witnessed the extraordinary.
This is my story.
I was not abused, abandoned, or locked up as a child, unless you consider being locked out of the house as punishment bad. My parents never married, thus never divorced, and as far as I know my father is still alive. We did not live in poverty, or in misery, or an exotic country, though we had quite an adventure moving to this country. I am not a misunderstood genius, a former child celebrity, or the child of a celebrity. I am not an addict of any vices, and recovering from nothing. I always thought I was an outsider but apparently, my unusual upbringing was not so unusual, and actually quite ordinary.
I am an immigrant.
I am not white.
I married a white guy.
I have one child.
This is my story.
I love alphabet books, and organizing things encyclopedically. Many writing teachers (K-collage) use this method for class assignments, and so here is one more for the books.
Reader's Agreement (page v)
Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life:
This is the Reader's Agreement that I as reader must sign before embarking on this task. It appears on page v., but even before this page, there is a bit more fun. Such as the cover for example. The hard bound book is a glossy sky blue with the title imprinted in Encyclopedia Britanica-ish brown. The spine is in color blocks of orange, hot pink, neon green and yellow like a candy store. The a simple dust jacket covers 3/4ths of the binding; with some text to inform you of what's to come inside this Encyclopedia of Amy Krause Rosenthal's ordinary life.
see also: book jackets
I am going to follow, as best as I can, the Encyclopedic format that AKR used, and will follow her exact subject headings. Sometimes, I will not be able to include much to an entry, and other times, my entry will be completely the opposite of Amy's. I also have/will add some entries not included in Amy's book. see Katie Palmer, Piano teacher. I will be referring to the author as Amy, because after reading this book for the first time, I feel as if I already know her, she is indeed the ordinary girl next door. see Katie Palmer, Piano teacher.
This project is part journal, part compilation of stories to be used for the future, and part Julie and Julia without the food.
*****
Before the title page, she lists how many times certain words appear in the book:
cool- 22
really-69
nice- 28
awkward-6
embarrassing-3
coffee-23
sublime-1
weird-6
bittersweet-5
death-1
random-15
love-78
*****
PAGE vii:
I was not abused, abandoned, or locked up as a child. My parents were not alcoholics, nor were they ever divorced or dead. We did not live in poverty, or in misery, or in an exotic country. I am not a misunderstood genius, a former child celebrity, or the child of a celebrity. I am not a drug addict, sex addict, food addict, or recovered anything. If I indeed had a past life, I have no recollection of who I was.
I have not survived against all odds.
I have not lived to tell.
I have not witnessed the extraordinary.
This is my story.
-Amy Krouse Rosenthal, age 39
Chicago
June 2004
*****
My Foreword:
I was not abused, abandoned, or locked up as a child, unless you consider being locked out of the house as punishment bad. My parents never married, thus never divorced, and as far as I know my father is still alive. We did not live in poverty, or in misery, or an exotic country, though we had quite an adventure moving to this country. I am not a misunderstood genius, a former child celebrity, or the child of a celebrity. I am not an addict of any vices, and recovering from nothing. I always thought I was an outsider but apparently, my unusual upbringing was not so unusual, and actually quite ordinary.
I am an immigrant.
I am not white.
I married a white guy.
I have one child.
This is my story.
-Micki Migiwa Watanabe Spiller, age 49
Queens, New York
January 2018
*****
I love alphabet books, and organizing things encyclopedically. Many writing teachers (K-collage) use this method for class assignments, and so here is one more for the books.
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