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Here’s me in a nutshell. Help! I’m in a nutshell! How did I get into this bloody great big nutshell? What kind of shell has a nut like this? Okay. Sorry about the blatant Austin Powers reference, but I had to get that out of my system. Just delaying the inevitable.

Anyway, I have never been very good at condensing who I am into a bunch of sentences (you know, the whole nutshell thing). I always end up sounding totally lame and nothing like myself. I guess if you truly want to get to know me you’ll just have to become a faithful follower of my weekly blog, but here’s a preview so you know who you’re dealing with.

I am an LSU graduate. I have been married for almost two years. No kids, just an adorable Chihuahua named Armani. I taught third grade for three years as a member of Teach for America before getting back into writing. I love Starbuck’s toffee nut lattes, Chopin martinis, really good cigars, silly girly movies, shoe shopping, cooking, yoga, old movies, swimming, pinot noir, independent films, my iPod, free music Tuesdays on iTunes, taking naps, watching the Food Network, books, going to the library and reading.

Can I just repeat that I absolutely adore reading? Love, love, love it! Books are a total passion of mine. When I was approached about blogging for 225 I immediately knew I wanted to write about books and literature. I mean, movies and music can be powerful and exalting, but for some reason they seem prosaic by comparison.

There’s nothing more powerful than the written word. History shows us that books have been burned and people have been killed because of their power.

It reminds me of a little book called “Fahrenheit 451.” If you haven’t read it stop reading this and go to the bookstore or the library. It’s a classic. I’ll even forgive author Ray Bradbury for refusing to sign my copy when he came and spoke at LSU a few years ago, and give him a plug anyway.

The title of the book is literally “the temperature at which book-paper catches fire, and burns.” I won’t ruin it for you, but it’s about a society where books have been banned by the government, but interestingly, life in Bradbury’s novel is so fast-paced that most people don’t even miss the books because no one has time to read anyway. No one experiences complex thoughts. Ideas aren’t shared. It’s so unbelievably depressing.

I find a parallel, however. I’ve noticed a scaled-down version of this happening with people now. Things have changed in the past few years. Cell phones now have access to the Internet, thousands of songs fit in a device no bigger than a credit card and we have the ability to pause and rewind live television.

Oprah’s Book Club has suddenly become the literary compass guiding readers. What makes the daytime talk show diva such an expert? Remember the whole James Frey debacle? You should read “My Antonia” because it’s a great book, not because Oprah tells you to.

Barnes and Noble has become little more than a place to get a good cup of coffee or the latest Shakira CD. Great books are forced into early retirement in the bargain bin because supply exceeds demand. Do you know who won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction this year? Did you read “Sideways” before the movie came out? Did you even know that it was a novel before it was a screenplay?

With all the new technology, it’s no wonder people are turning to other forms of entertainment. Books are being shelved, literally. The National Endowment for the Arts published a study in 2004 called “Reading at Risk: A Survey of Literary Reading in America” in which it showed that not only has literary reading declined among all groups, the rate of decline is accelerated especially among younger readers.

The NEA has started an initiative this year called The Big Read to address the growing problem. Across the country communities are embracing a single book to facilitate discussion and get residents reading. It’s not unlike the One Book One Community initiative that kicked off in the capital city in May.

The current state of reading has me rattled. As a teacher I tried to get my students excited about reading, sharing books with them that I loved as a child, but it was a challenge. Most of them failed to develop reading skills at an early age and so reading was more of a chore than a delight. I am very passionate about reading and it is my privilege to be your source for all things literary. I look forward to sharing some of my favorite reads with you as well as getting your suggestions. So, dust off your library card and break out the bookmarks. It’s time to embrace reading. And don’t worry, unlike Oprah, I won’t bring up Scientology. You’ve got my word.