Good morning! I hope everyone is having a great Tuesday so far. You're one day closer to Friday, you're reading FYA so obviously you're taking a nice little break, if you're lucky you have some coffee or other beverage, and it's time for a new installment in our series My First Time, in which we share the life-changing moment we encountered a favorite author. Today, join me in reminiscing about discovering my favorite, Meg Cabot!
My First Time With Meg Cabot
Date: 2006
Location: My BFF's house, in Georgia
How we met: Several years ago, my best friend and I were both living at Fort Benning, GA for only six months. Rather than try to find a temporary job somewhere, we decided to take a break and mooch off our husbands -- finishing the Sex and the City marathon we'd started a year earlier, ride our bikes to twice-weekly yoga classes, and spend inordinate amounts of time at the public library. Technically, I was supposed to be working on my master's thesis, but I'd hit a snag and was spending more time watching Buffy than reading about institutional repositories in Brazil (there aren't very many -- that's quite a snag). Anywho, for some reason I was over at her house alone -- collecting her dog out while she was out of town, I think -- and while I was waiting for Jake to take care of business in the backyard, I picked up one of many hot pink books piled on her coffee table. That book was The Princess Diaries, and a lifelong love affair began.
What it was like: I enjoyed the movies, but I had no idea what bliss was waiting for me between those pink covers. I was dubious of anything pink, probably because I hadn't yet read Meg Cabot's books or encountered champ cans, so I was totally unprepared for the joy and wonder of meeting Mia Thermopolis. From the first moment of diving into her diary, I knew I'd found true love. She was funny, insecure, silly, and so endearing, I was startled when Jake barked at the door and reminded me why I was there at all. I took the book home with me, put the next several on reserve at the library, and proceeded to work my way shamelessly through most of Meg Cabot's oeuvre. Her heroines are best friends and the stories are security blankets during tough times, and I don't know how I'd survive without an unread Meg Cabot book on my bookshelves just in case.
What was your first time with Meg Cabot like?
About the Author: Meghan is an erstwhile librarian in exile from Texas and writer for Forever Young Adult. She loves books, cooking and homey things like knitting and vintage cocktails. Although she’s around books all the time, she doesn’t get to read as much as she’d like.
