Sleeping with Schubert--Not just for music nerds!

This is a fun read. (it was a great beach book!) It reminded my a little of that movie with Lilly Tomlin and Steve Martin where they share a body--what was it called? Anyway, this girl has to share a body with Schubert. The steamy title is a little misleading, since she does EVERYTHING with Schubert after he "shows up". Here is an excerpt from the first chapter where she realizes something is wrong. It starts with her listening to the pianist at Nordstrom department store.

"I tried to walk away but his playing attracted me like a spectator to an Amtrak wreck. Occasional missed notes hit my body like flying glass. I outplayed him in my head, summoning the music's original beauty. When he left for his break, I calmly took his place on the piano bench and began to play.
Through all my grad-school piano lessons I'd only gotten good enough to recognize the skill in others. Suddenly I became an other. I was not like a lifeless puppet, nor a remote-control robot. All the movement came from inside. Muscles flexed, fingers moved, and my mind was filled with a comprehension I had no right to possess. I vibrated like a tuning fork as the music flowed outward. Visions slid in and out of focus. My brain engaged in a psychic tug-of-war with an unseen opponent.
It was a lovely piece I played, one I'm sure I never head before but which felt like an old friend...(chunk taken out here to save space)...When I stopped, the world of Nordstrom fell in on me again. The response to my music was, like, totally Californian. Most of the shoppers shopped on, unscathed by a miracle...(another sloppy editing job, sorry)...
"Hey, lady, how'd you do that?" I turned to see an adolescent boy in trendy, cool-kid clothes. He stared at me, stunned, as if he'd just discovered fire.
"I don't know," I answered. Then the world grew dark, the ocean rushed through my ears, and I gratefully passed out.

I love this excerpt because it was always my dream to sit down at the piano and have it miraculously sound good without having to practice first. After reading the rest of the book I changed my mind. Practice sounds easier than having a musical genius borrow your body.