Two-Two Much Reading?

Ever experience patches in your life when for whatever reason, you simply aren't interested in reading? Every now and then this happens to me, and usually I dread these pockets of un-interest and un-enthusiasm. Nothing will inspire me. Not a short story, not a juicy news article. I won't even have the energy to read the back of a pill bottle. So this week I decided to try and embrace this literary vacuum, and immersed myself whole-heartedly into the boob tube. I watched Oprah. Some Brit-mystery about a nun-turned-killer-profiler. I watched a Nora Ephron movied I'd never seen, Heartburn, which apparently was based on her marriage to Carl Bernstein (of Woodward and). I didn't even know those two were married. Of course I had to get the husband to look up this info about the movie, because I couldn't even get the wherewithall to read a video and movie guide.

I also watched something I used to always enjoy, cartoons. But I'm a bit of an old grump when it comes to the animated cartoons I see on TV these days; nothing is as good as the classic Warner Bros cartoons I grew up on. But when I flicked the channel to YTV yesterday, and saw a cartoon character who looked remarkably like the oh-so-missed Mordecai Richler, I was intrigued.

Unbenknownst to me, Richler's classic children's story, Jacob Two Two Meets the Hooded Fang, has now morphed into an animated cartoon series, with Jacob Two-Two as the main character, and the rest of the Richler familias as the backdrop to this show. Mordecai's character ("Morty") is pure delight. He is short and chubby, always sporting a thick rumpled sweater, and is usually hidden away in the house, writing, or reading about his favourite team the Montreal Marvels. He will pop out from time to time to eat, chat to the family and give sagely advice to little Jacob Two-Two. Another character I enjoyed was the oldest son, the hip and cynical Daniel, who like the real Daniel Richler (whom I've always had a crush on) sports a wild and wacky hair-cut.

I've only actually seen one of the stories, but it was a great introduction to the entire cast. In the story Jacob finds a special mystery book which takes him and his friends on an adventure to find a great treasure (with a bit of help from Jacob's dad). I love the way the characters are drawn, and the painted backgrounds are very good for a TV series, and this specific story even had Library Ninjas in it! What more could one ask for? I'm hooked.

Oh yes, and I am gradually getting back into reading. This morning I started with some New Yorker cartoons, and have graduated to reading an article by Joan Acocella about writer's block. Which begs the question: has anyone every written about reader's block?

Comments

[michele]

This post made me put down my book (well, okay, I did not have a book in my hand, but please play along), and wipe tears from my eyes. Let me repeat something I said in my post....Gasp! Disbelief! Gasp again! Can it be true?

You are on the road to recovery, yes?