A READING DILEMMA!

Help decide my fate!

This week's newsletter will be short. I'm faced, as the headline states, with A READING DILEMMA. Recently, I bought a used middle-grade novel from Cupboard Maker Books (where I'll be signing books next weekend from 1 pm-3 pm, be there or be square!) entitled The Storm Keeper's Island by Catherine Doyle.

The cover and premise intrigued me, the endorsements piqued my interest, and the 40% off the already marked-down price sealed the deal. But now comes the problem. I was only nine pages into my reading when I turned the page to encounter this:

This startling message has me befuddled. "Stop here," followed by three exclamation points and colored red. Doesn't get much more emphatic than that. But why should I stop on page 11?

I'm afraid the note jotted below the warning only further confuses me. It's hard to make out, but it seems to read: "Like it now you dident stop wher you wor spos to."

So what do you make of that? Should I like it before reading further? But what does that mean? Where should I like it? Or is that intended to read, "like, you should stop reading now"? And where was I "spose to" stop? Is it saying I should have known to stop before turning the page to see this note? How? Why? And my big question is, was this Post-it intended for someone specific, or some random reader like me? 

SO BEFORE I GO ANY FURTHER, I ask you, dear reader, to direct my fate. 

As you may suspect, I'm finding this note to be more interesting than the book itself. Stories about it are gathering in my mind, waiting to be told. I'd love to read your take on this post-it's origins. Let me know what you think it all means in the comments below.

Until next time, Always Be Creating (and I hope to see you next Saturday at Cupboard Maker Books!)
—Bill

If you haven’t given it a listen yet, tune in to my conversation with host J. Alexander Greenwood on the Mysterious Goings On podcast: On Storytelling with Three Hats