
When I was about 12, I was curious as hell about sex and wanted to find out whatever I could in my favorite resource: books. My parents didn't censor what I read, but my Mom's tattered The Sheik and Sons of the Sheik, both by E.M Hull, while racy, didn't have any of the "juicy stuff" I was looking for, just a lot of innuendo that made you have to think it up yourself. Hard to do when you're a 12-year old virgin.
So when the book The Godfather came out, and I heard my parents talking about it with my aunts and uncles, I knew I had to read it. I didn't tell my mom what I was going to do, but I got it out of the library. I snuck it into my bedroom and when I woke up on a Saturday, I started reading before I even got out of bed. I was enthralled by the violent imagery and the graphic sex scenes. I boldly brought it to the breakfast table and continued reading. My mom raised her eyebrows and asked me if I needed her to explain anything, because she had seen how far into the book I was. I shook my head and kept reading. I read until lunchtime, then brought the book with me and read while I ate. I read until dinner, then did the same thing. I read after dinner. I got ready for bed and took the book into bed with me. I kept reading by flashlight under my covers, until I finally finished it at about 3 in the morning. That was the longest book I'd ever read up until then, and even now I can't believe I read continuously for that long. But I did and I loved every minute of it! Books were more real to me than my boring childhood existence sometimes, and even more important to me than having friends.