10/15/08 The Booklist

I’m so glad to know that I’m not the only one who book binges. I knew you guys were awesome! My coworkers know that I read roughly 6 books a week (usually one a night when they’re less than 300 pages), but when I told them that I went through 3000 pages in two days and a half days without pause, they thought I was a little nuts. (To be honest, Tony thought so too, but he’s been through my book binges before. He tries to distract me, but it never works). This binge was a little rougher than most because the Twilight series have such emotionally complex characters. (Which sounds stupid to say about books that are technically geared towards young adults, but there you are). And I seemed to be stuck in there with them, feeling everything that they did, jammed into a 48 hour period. I probably could have ended the binge after those four, but I needed Daughter of York (Anne Easter Smith, 2008) to “rebalance my humors”, as they said in her time.

Pam asked for book suggestions, and while I’ve thought about keeping a “what I’m currently reading” on the sidebar, I didn’t think it would work because 1) it would change daily, and 2) my interests are so scattered that I’m sure that they wouldn’t appeal to anyone else. I never go into the library looking for anything specific; I wander the aisles, randomly picking whatever catches my eye. Sometimes that backfires, but most of the time I enjoy the different styles and voices (of the authors…not the ones in my head). Regardless, and just for Pam, here’s what I’ve been reading (other than the Twilight series and Daughter of York, since I’ve already mentioned them):

Beating the babushka by Tim Maleeny is your good old fashioned PI mystery, but he has a quick wit and interesting plot twists.
Stealing the Dragon, by Tim Maleeny. This is the continuation to Beating the babushka, where he gets further into his character’s back stories. His one-liners and interesting observations will keep you chuckling.
Punching In: The Unauthorized Adventures of a Front Line Employee by Alex Frankel. This is actually non-fiction, and it was REALLY good. Alex goes undercover at companies like UPS, Starbucks, The Gap, and Enterprise Rent-a-car to examine their company culture and discover what its like being “on the front line”. Made me look at companies (including my own) in a new light.
The James Boys: a novel account of four desperate brothers by Richard Liebmann-Smith- this was really well written also. Very fast paced and lots of fun.
Whatever Makes You Happy by William Sutcliffe- This one threw me for a second because it’s the story of four mothers who are trying to reconnect with their adult sons, which is a position that I rarely think about. But it was good. I enjoyed it, and the different perspective was interesting.
How to Murder a Millionaire by Nancy Martin- this is the first in a series about the Blackbird sisters, which is another series of fun whodunits that read quickly and don’t make you think too much. I call them bathtub books since they are short enough to read in the bathtub/hot tub. I find the titles a little cheesy, but she has crazy characters, so they’re fun if you just need an easy read. The others in the series are Murder Melts in your Mouth, A crazy little thing called death, Have your cake and kill him too, Cross your heart and hope to die, Some like it Lethal, and Dead girls don’t wear diamonds. Again, cheesy titles, but cute stories.

So there you have it. I only read of enjoyment, so you'll rarely find a self-help or educational book in that list (although I did check out some gardening books last spring). They're most just some light reading, some mystery, a (slightly) historical fiction, a mother-son relationship story, and the views on current workplace culture. All currently residing in my library, waiting for the next person to wander along and find them.

But now I’m curious…What are you reading?