So Many Books, So Little Time

If you took all the books on my “Cathy to Read” list and stacked them up, the pile would probably be taller than I am.

My favorites are those classic mysteries—there’s a murder, the body is found (in a room where the door was locked from the inside!); a mad killer is on the loose; and a quirky detective has to figure out whodunit. In short, Agatha Christie, PD James, Elizabeth George, Deborah Crombie.

I also love biographies and historical fiction about anyone in the English royal family prior to 1603. Yep, that’s Henry the 8th and the wives. Reading about that real-life soap opera fascinates me. But it’s good to branch out and I do try to read across genres as much as possible, and keep up with what’s new.

In that spirit, I would like to recommend two very funny books I’ve read recently.

Redshirts by Jon Scalzi is for anyone who loves Star Trek, or who loves to poke fun at the conventions of Star Trek. A new group of ensigns, assigned to a flagship much like a certain USS Enterprise, are starting to realize that not everyone makes it back from “away missions” to other planets, and that sometimes the shipboard science just doesn’t make sense.

Their quest to get to the bottom of things yields unexpected results. It turns a little “meta” towards the end, slightly philosophical, but don’t let that throw you. Scalzi’s writing moves the story along and much of the dialogue is hilarious.

Where’d You Go, Bernadette is by Maria Semple. Set in Seattle, this is the story of Bee, a middle school student who sets out to recreate the events that led to the disappearance of her mother, Bernadette, a brilliant and reclusive architect, on the eve of a family trip to Antarctica. Sound weird? It is, especially when you factor in her father, a genius who works for Microsoft; her mother’s personal (virtual) assistant in India; and an assortment of meddling co-workers and neighbors.

The story is told via emails, hospital bills, diary entries, and newspaper articles. While I laughed all the way through the book, the ending made me choke up a little. In a good way.

Give them a try and let me know what you think!

What about you? What are you reading? What’s the best book you’ve read lately? What’s on your “can’t-wait-to-read-it” list? If you’d like to share, I’d love to hear from you!

Happy Reading and Happy Thanksgiving!