Friday, August 31, 2012

Origin of "The Reading Rutabaga"

Not me as the person. This is the story of the title. Compared to most all of the reviews I’ve posted so far, it’s a short story.
            Some have asked me how I came up with the Reading Rutabaga. It began with the Rutabaga. As a sophomore in college, I called my friends’ dorm room (they happen to be twin sisters). Jessi picked up the phone.
            “Hello?” she asked.
            “Hi. This is Rutabaga,” I greeted her.
            And as far as obscure-inside-joke-nicknames-that-very-few-know-about go, the rest is history where Rutabagas are concerned. [I do, by the way, like eating actual rutabagas.] [I’d also like to note that I’m glad the first edible that popped into my head that night was rutabaga and not brussel sprout or garlic. I don’t have anything against brussel sprouts, and I love garlic, but The Reading Brussel Sprout or The Reading Garlic just don’t seem to mesh as well. Ha!]
            Once I decided I was going to go forward with blogging, I tried some serious thinking of a blog name. It didn’t go so awesomely at first. Either nothing came or what crossed my mind simply did not seem to fit me right. Then I thought to myself …
            Rutabaga.
            And from there: I know I love to read books, and since I planned this blog to be about books I READ, I figured … “The Reading Rutabaga.”
            And there you have it -- the origin of The Reading Rutabaga (title -- not the person)!

2 comments:

  1. Haha!! I remember quite well those college years and calls from the mysterious Rutabaga! I think Jessi and I need to come up with some aliases. They may come in handy one day.
    Many famous authors used pen names, so it's only fitting that you have a pen name as well.
    Also, I don't believe I've every eaten a rutabaga. How does one prepare one for consumption? Do you just eat them raw? Do you boil them? Do you bake them? I don't know!

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    Replies
    1. Despite the alias, I've only eaten rutabaga once. I did like it, which I was relieved to discover. When I tried it, it'd been boiled and seasoned. I've not looked into other ways to prepare it, but I'm certain talented chefs and home cooks have figured out a cookbook of recipes!

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