Just Plum Good

“I'd like to read a book sometime. I've never read a book before. That'd be an adventure. I understand they have pages and everything. Yeah, I've got to do that sometime.”
-Frank Oz

Last weekend, I curled up with a book on the futon in the guest bedroom while Rob played old-school video games in there. It was a wonderful, relaxing way to spend Easter Sunday. The book of choice… No, not the best seller that I’ve been painstakingly trying to wade myself through. No, not the classic that is this month’s book club selection. No, this time I was curled up with Stephanie Plum.

I’ve collected all of the books in the series as they’ve come out in paperback. I wait patiently from the time I see the hardback released. I’ve let my friend Hillary borrow them when she needs some new to read. She went on vacation a month or so ago, taking a couple more with her. When she got back, she returned those that she had borrowed and added two new ones to the collection, one of which I had somehow skipped. They’ve been sitting on my shelf, calling to me every time I walked by.
But last weekend, I took them up on their offer. I escaped into the world of Stephanie Plum, Joe Morelli, and Ranger. Rob made fun of me for reading my smutty chick lit, and I couldn’t really argue with him, except to say, “But they’re really good! There’s usually one good sex scene in each novel, but usually there are more exploding cars than sex. Mostly it’s just a story about a bumbling girl who naps criminals and bondees whether she plans to or not.

I get so pulled into the story that I could read them in one sitting, if there just wasn’t anything else to do. But since there is, I just eagerly wait until I can sit down with the book again. And when I finish a book, I’m always left wanting more. This time I was lucky enough to have two unread books, so when I finished with Ten Big Ones, I could start Twelve Sharp. However, after Twelve Sharp…

So, what did I do yesterday while Rob was playing basketball at the gym? I ran to the store to buy another one of Janet Evanovich’s books. Gotta feed the addiction.

Here's a pic from 2004, when I hung out all afternoon at Barnes and Noble waiting to meet Janet Evanovich.