On the subject of murder, I'll get to the sex later, I've been wading through the swamp of Prey books of John Sandford starting with Rules of Prey, I'm currently reading number six in a series of 20. It is called Night Prey. Number three was called Eyes of Prey and it was the creepiest so far. I found it so gory, it was hard to read, and forget watching a movie about something like that. So why am I reading it? I'm a sucker for mysteries and the hook was so strong, I kept reading and I was starting to really like the main character, Lucas Davenport. I read Sandford's latest book in the series called Storm Prey released in 2010 before deciding that I liked the author well enough to spend time on his other books. I'm pretty adept at blowing off the parts I don't want to cope with so I'm hanging in there through the whole set.
I read spy novel authors like Vince Flynn and Robert Ludlum. Vince Flynn's Mitch Rapp is supposedly the prototype for Jack Bauer in the TV series 24 and Vince Flynn served as adviser on the program. Of course spies like Mitch Rapp are strong Alpha Male characters and always "out of control" according to those who want to control them. Robert Ludlum's Jason Bourne character was cast from the same mold. I got hooked on watching the Bourne Trilogy again on cable recently and they just keep running them and I just keep watching. Matt Damon is so easy on the eyes and I have loads of time to watch him. Of course he always wins in the end so spy novels and the following movies are like old westerns because we know ahead who wears the white hats and who is going to win at the end. Murder mysteries in books are unsettling and sometimes the movies are even more unsettling.
The most rewarding read is always a good romance novel. The category of romance novels outsells all others in the book market. According to NBC, romance novel sales are not only thriving, but increasing in sales in a depressed economy where the publishing industry shows a decrease in sales in all other categories. People are always looking for an escape from the realities of life and what better than a "trashy" novel with a happy ending,
We romance novel readers know there are romance novels, then there are spicy romance novels. If the spice of life appeals, one of the best authors on the market today is Stephanie Laurens. I just finished her third book in her Black Cobra quartet. It has mystery and romance with graphic, spicy, yes sexy details! I eagerly wait for the fourth due in the fall. I've read all of her books and will read anything she writes. That ex-Ph.D. biochemist, Stephanie Laurens, knows a whole bunch about sex. Oh, those Cynsters and that Bastion Club with the mysterious Dalziel are fascinating!
Another of my favorite authors is Lisa Kleypas and her Sugar Daddy with sequel Blue-Eyed Devil which were very enjoyable reads. Of course the queen bee of all romance fiction, Nora Roberts, is still going strong and producing a dazzling number of books each year on her way to the bank. I finished her third in the Brides quartet about the four young ladies who run a wedding consulting business. The photographer, the baker, the florist and the coordinator of the whole show find their grooms also.
After dealing with fictional serial killers and spies, I have to look for some reading of a happier variety and I'm addicted to romance novels.
It's time to emerge from my latest reading binge. Reading has to be my favorite hobby of the many hobbies in which I have indulged during my life. I have probably spent as many hours reading as sleeping. I have never understood people who say they don't read. I can understand that they might not read as often as I, but never read for enjoyment? It's almost like saying I don't breathe--it's a concept foreign to me.
I started this week, by buying three books and checking out four books from the public library. I have three more reserved and waiting for pickup. I have given up buying so many books because my house is bursting at the seams and there's no more room. Thank goodness for public libraries! Never say never, but I would have difficulty making the switch to electronic readers because I am so addicted to the paper books. I like holding a book in my hands. I like the smell of books and the weight of a book sitting in my lap.
I am very possessive of the books I have decided I want to keep. Sometimes I turn some books over to second hand bookstores in trade for other books, but I have some classics that I don't plan to give up. Unfortunately, some folks don't understand that and want to borrow my books. I have to make it clear that I plan to keep the book. I learned the hard way that lending books to people is really just giving them books. They assume I won't remember; then they forget and when I ask for it back, they are insulted and have forgotten what happened to it. Simply because I have a lot of books does not mean I want someone to find a home (other than mine) for it. I have a relative who picks up one and starts reading it, which then forces me to tell the person that they can't take it home because it is part of my reference,does-not-circulate collection. Sometimes I revisit my favorite books, or I want to double check some fact from it.
I know that person would finish reading the book in question, then turn around and leave it someplace, which did not sit well with me. The person is a fan of bookcrossing.com which is fine for her, but not what I want to do. I'm a fan of public libraries. So I wrote my name on the three ends of pages when the book is closed so that my name was visible anytime the book was seen. Then I told her I would pay to have it shipped back to me when she finished it, which finally convinced the person that I intended to hold on to the book. So she left it on my shelf.
When I discovered books, my world was complete. Sometimes, I bury myself in books for days, stopping only for necessities like exercise, eating, shopping, or laundry. I've been known to interrupt sleep to read. One of my greatest reasons for retirement had to be my compulsion for reading. Now I can indulge myself anytime I want. Needless to say, the only things that top my reading priorities would have to be family and friends--grandchildren trump everything.
My family used to be servants to this beautiful black Labrador Retriever, who was the sweetest lady you could ever meet. One of her most endearing qualities was her affinity for creating habits, routines, "comfort food" of any event that we initiated. We had to be careful in choosing what we did with her because we knew it would become an expectation for her. Once, we tossed sticks on the driveway for her to retrieve on a Saturday morning after her walk. Thereafter, Saturday morning was stick day and she had great powers of communicating what she wanted. She expected that playtime every Saturday morning. Once we gave her the last bite of a banana and thereafter, she expected the last bite of any banana being consumed. It didn't take a dozen times for us to introduce a routine to her for her to consider the routine to be a habit and a requirement. Once was enough. Maybe she had OCD, but she was extraordinarily trainable.
Sometimes, I think people are similar to my favorite Labrador Retriever. When we find something we like, we immediately attach our minds to it, and incooperate it into our daily routine. I try to avoid thinking of food in a routine like that, because it spells disaster for my diet. I think of those comforting habits of the day as the way we center our universe--that morning cup of coffee, the newspaper, and the favorite morning show; the exercise routine, e-mail with our friends. Some TV shows can become a routine that tells us all is well with our world and comforts us in times of depression, sickness and grief. Note the disappointment expressed when some favorite TV shows ended--Sopranos, Jerry Seinfeld, Star Trek. We had to find new comfort foods for the mind.
Our pet Labrador has been gone for eleven years, but she provided great enrichment, entertainment and comfort to us for sixteen years. Like Obi Wan Kenobi from Star Wars said, "I will be with you always". In her absence, books have been and will always be my comfort food for the mind. A book in hand can be the best friend a person could ever want. Books are the only addiction I need.
