Mea Culpa

One and a half months into this blog, and I've already messed up.

I forgot Love Is A Mix Tape.

I meet an author, and I forget to include his book in my January recap.

Poor Rob Sheffield. If he remembers me from his book signing, and then he were to read this, I would understand completely if he hated me forever.

So yes, I read Love is a Mix Tape in January - mostly in one day, actually, which may have been why I did not include it. It certainly wasn't because it was the most horrid book I ever read - because it was not! LiaMT was a hilarious, touching tribute to music and Rob Sheffield's dead wife, Renee. While there was some generational gap-induced fly overs of cultural references (he was married for five years at about the time I entered high school. However, he looks like he's about 21 now, which is so unfair - I already have some white hairs, grr), the central core of the book rang clear. Rob Sheffield was in awe of two things: his wife and music. One has been gone for ten years, but he'll always have the mix tapes.

There once was a time I spent laboriously cataloging and tracking down all the songs used on a particular show I liked. It was the 90's, and I was a teenager with a radio and a dual cassette deck. I could make an entire tape of one song if I wanted, and I often taped hours of my then favorite radio station. Thankfully, my taste in music has improved and there are newer, better, faster ways of getting what you want in your music library. However, I still have yet to completely embrace MP3s and reject CDs - old habits die hard.

While I may not be obsessed like my coworker D is with Rob Sheffield, there is a part of me that will always be a geeky teen yearning to capture every second of Garbage's "Only Happy When It Rains" on my latest tape. So it was delightful to find myself in a room with about forty other music and mix tape devotees one January evening listening to Mr. Sheffield himself read from LiaMT. There were four of us, all in varying degrees of mix tape addictions. L was probably the least affected, while J and I tied for 2nd. I'd read the book, and thoroughly enjoyed it, but wasn't sure I wanted it signed, J got into it, but not enough to buy the book at full price (yes, we were at a competing bookstore....shh!). D was full on fangirling Rob, but she maintained a calm facade.

In the end, I gave J my book so she could have a signed copy. I was going to hang back with L, but she and D pulled me up to the front, where I tried to invite Rob to our store to sign stock, but he quite possibly thought I was hitting on him. Note to self: always have business cards in your wallet - ALWAYS. D and J introduced me as their coworker, and we chatted about how LiaMT is up for an award given out by the store we work for, how it was one of our Best Books of 2007, yadda yadda. And then I have to confess that I don't have a business card on me, which is why I'm going to hand him a piece of paper with my email and phone number on it. I swear, Rob, I was not trying to pick you up. Although, you were adorable, and D would have taken you home if she could.

I think I know why I didn't remember this in my January post. I was trying to block the whole embarrassing episode from memory. So I apologize to you, Mr. Sheffield, and vow to you, my reader, and myself never to forget a book again.

And yes, I still listen to Garbage when I'm in a bad mood.