I’m a scaredy cat

I’m a pretty big scaredy cat when it comes to creepy, haunted things. (Or, let’s be honest, certain films for children. It took me until I was 28 to get through E.T. without hiding under the covers.) A few years ago after watching Amityville Horror (the newer version that features lots of Ryan Reynolds being sexy) with friends, I made Joe come outside and walk me from our car to the apartment, 10 yards away. I blame it on my overactive imagination.

So I probably shouldn’t have gotten hooked on True Detective, the HBO show everyone’s been raving about. It centers around some occult murders, which felt just real enough to completely terrify me. We’d finish an episode before bed and I’d be checking behind my back whenever I’d take Wilbur out on his nighttime walk.

I mentioned this to my cousin, who is also a fan of the show, and he said the trick is to have a “palate cleanser” show or piece of entertainment to put a buffer between the scary thing and sleep. My palate cleanser has been a fun book Andrea loaned me: Where’d You Go, Bernadette.

It has been on my list for ages, and is a quick, funny read. The title character is a (fictional) cult figure in architecture and her husband is a genius at Microsoft who has the fourth most watched TED talk. Lots of the humor pokes fun at the nerdy stuff I geek out about, so I’ve really enjoyed it. If you’re looking for a beach read, it’s in paperback!