first book ever finished

From my recollection, last night (at work) I finished the first book I ever freely chose to read. Now, I debated as going as far as saying finished a book period but i know I actually enjoyed and fully read some of the books I was suppose to read for summer breaks. I am not saying I have never read anything that I was not forced to read, it is just that I have always started them and never finished. (please refer to number 17 of my last posting.)

The Book? 'Here's What We'll Say' by Reichen Lehmkuhl. Who??? Well he is the bf (maybe now ex-bf knowing how the gays work) Lance from N*Sync and he was also on the Amazing Race with his then partner Chip and won.

Okay, so i'm sure most of you are wondering why the hell out of all the great autobiographies and novels of the world would I chose to read and become enthralled with this one? Well it is autobiography about discovering himself and coming out while in the Air Force Academy. I have been in the process, side-lined now that I am in California, to join the Air Force Reserve. I thought it would be an interesting perspective on the Air Force and help me figure out whether or not to commit to part of the military. What I found was a book that I could not put down. I never had a book before that would keep me up all night when reading it instead of making me pass out. Each page I read I wanted to hear more about his experiences. It gave me hard-on at times, it made me cry at times, especially the last few chapters.

Although I did start this back in the fall/early winter, the times I picked it up i never wanted to put it down. I remember laying in bed in my grandma's basement up until 3 or 4 am reading this book and forcing myself to put it down. Recently i have been reading it on my night shifts. I actually felt more awake reading the book than when I would put it down to check on my patients. I never experienced such a thing from a book.

There was a chapter or two that became preachy, going off on a tangent about gay rights. Those were the only parts I skipped ahead. I already support gay rights and agreed with what he started going off on. I wasn't reading it to reconfirm my views of gay rights or hear someone's else. I just wanted to hear his story.

It was not the best literary work, not even close. It was simple writing. I accept and relate. But something about it grabbed hold of my attention and never let go. I would recommend it. It was an interesting perspective on gays in the military. I also think it would help those who might be struggling with accepting themselves or coming out.

I am actually proud that I finished a book I wanted to read. I actually had come to accept that I would probably never finish a book. I surprised myself. More so because I had put it down for sometime since I moved to San Diego but I brought it because I knew I needed and wanted to finish it. Christmas in July was that day! This may sound silly to some of you, but those that know me and not my poor attention span, this is an amazing accomplishment for me!

** umm so I just went to go find a picture of the book to add to this posting and found a link to a myspace page dedicated to it... http://www.myspace.com/hereswhatwellsay that's wierd**