What is Christian McKay Heidicker reading?

Featured at Writers Read: Christian McKay Heidicker, author of Cure for the Common Universe.

His entry begins:

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

You never know if an über-popular book is going to crackle (Beloved, East of Eden) or crumble in your mouth like gluten-free bread (Ben-Hur, DaVinci Code). I started reading Wind because I wanted to find out if Margaret Mitchell was actually racist or if she was simply being honest about her characters and the era in which they lived. (The good people of Goodreads definitely lean toward the former.) Having just written a book with a main character with whom I did not see eye-to-eye, I was worried people might perceive his shortcomings as my own, and I wanted to see if there were others like me.

I stopped looking for clues hundreds of pages ago. I’m too delighted by the work. It’s funny. It’s intense. And thirty-eight hours into a fifty-hour audiobook, it hasn’t skipped a beat. Scarlett O’ Hara is one of the most fascinating train wrecks I’ve ever had the privilege of watching. Rhett Butler is a master conversationalist. I don’t want to meet either of them, but I love them.

Somewhere along the way, I think I may have found a clue as to what Mitchell thinks of...[read on]

About Cure for the Common Universe, from the publisher:

Prepare to be cured by this quirky and hilarious debut novel about a sixteen-year-old loner who is sent to rehab for video game addiction—perfect for fans of Ned Vizzini and Jesse Andrews.

Sixteen-year-old Jaxon is being committed to video game rehab…ten minutes after meeting a girl. A living, breathing girl named Serena, who not only laughed at his jokes but actually kinda sorta seemed excited when she agreed to go out with him.

Jaxon’s first date. Ever.

In rehab, Jaxon can’t blast his way through galaxies to reach her. He can’t slash through armies to kiss her sweet lips. Instead, he has four days to earn one million points by learning real-life skills. And he’ll do whatever it takes—lie, cheat, steal, even learn how to cross-stitch—in order to make it to his date.

If all else fails, Jaxon will have to bare his soul to the other teens in treatment, confront his mother’s absence, and maybe admit that it’s more than video games that stand in the way of a real connection.

From a bright new voice in young adult literature comes the story of a young man with a serious case of arrested development—and carpal tunnel syndrome—who is about to discover what real life is all about.

Visit C. M. Heidicker's website.

Cure for the Common Universe is among Shaun Byron Fitzpatrick's top seven geeky love stories that prove nerd love is the best love.

The Page 69 Test: Cure for the Common Universe.

Writers Read: Christian McKay Heidicker.

--Marshal Zeringue