On Reading

Been thinking about reading lately. I've been doing a lot more lately, mainly because there were a couple of books I recently bought (which means, given the number of unread books in the house, my guilt leads me to read these recent purchases much more quickly). I tend to be a collector. Part of it is opportunity - when you can get books cheap (or free - I'm looking at you, Book Expo), you feel stupid for not getting them, even if they may not be strictly in the genre you usually read. And hey, I do find good books this way ... when and if I eventually get around to reading them. But then there are the books you HAVE to get. For me, that's things like the Odd Thomas series (yeah, I know the third books sucked, but the fourth one is back on track and I can't help it, I like Odd) and Stephen King (shut up - I know he needs an editor, but his stories still grab me). And of course there are the topical books that won't matter a year from now (Scott McClellan's book comes to mind). So I flit from book to book, like a cat chasing a butterfly. Which means I have quite the backlog. Which should mean I won't buy any more books until I finish the ones I already have (but it doesn't).

I tend to be a bit eclectic in my tastes, ranging from non-fiction disease books to autobiographies to kids' fiction fantasy (gotta read some of the books my kids do, right?) to adult thrillers and mysteries and pretty much everything in between. The only thing I can't stand is romance. My husband claims I don't have a romantic bone in my body, and I suppose it's true. I just feel like romance slows down the story. Even in the Meg Cabot books I read (Heather Mills Mysteries, in case you were wondering), I roll my eyes at the romance, wishing she'd just get back to the story already.

Anyway, in an effort to get a bit more regular with the posting, I figured I'd share some of what I'm reading, what I hope to read, and what I've read that I would recommend.

Current Read: "Basket Case" by Carl Hiassen. I've been hooked on his books ever since I read "Sick Puppy." He just has a really warped sense of humor (and the bizarre). I think I found this one at a library sale. I'm glad I waited to read it as it seems much more relateable to me now that I'm going through my own mid-life crisis. It's about a reporter who pissed off the owner of the paper and got shuffled off to obituary duty. While writing the obituary for ex-rock star Jimmy Stoma, he starts to think that perhaps Jimmy's death wasn't an accident - and maybe the story could be his ticket back to the front page. It's fun summer read so far, with Hiassen's humor front and center.

To Read List:

1. "What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception" by Scott McClellan - what can I say, I'm still a political junkie.
2. Harry Turtledove books - he does alternative history stuff ...sounds interesting.
3. "The Fifth Floor" by Michael Harvey - Detective story that has gotten good reviews
4. "Final Theory" by Mark Alpert - I think this one might jump to the top of the list. It's supposed to be kind of like a DaVinci only based on science, and, you know, actually researched, well written, and logical.

Recommendations: I only have two right now ... "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by Sherman Alexie (if you haven't heard about it go right now and pick it up. Yeah, it's Young Adult, but his humor and storytelling is just so strong you need to read this book). The other one is "The Septembers of Shiraz" by Dalia Sofer (It's a fictional account of living through the Alice-Through-The-Looking-Glass world of post revolution Iran. Stunningly well written, a page turner that I couldn't put down. It avoids being maudlin or overly depressing while still giving a clear picture of what it must have been like living through that time. Best book I've read in a bunch of years.)