Are We Coming In Yet?

I think I'm coming back now.

It's been a wonking week for sure but I don't want to think about all that's happened here and in Minneapolis where we have friends. I can tell you we are all here and accounted for but the emotional and spiritual wounds are going to take some time.

So, in my need of comfort I want to talk about books! I can't even begin to tell you all how much I miss reading right now. Bob was such a dream tonight when he told me we needed to slow down and do things right. Like reading. No, really. He said reading!

I know tomorrow won't be the day as my family is coming for a visit and it's gonna be like 40 degrees C here so the pool is going to be working over time. And so will the BBQ. Ugh.

Anyways.

Tonight we went to Costco and for the first time ever I bought some books there. Normally I don't bother since I have that pesky 'can't buy only one book' rule and the selection at our store is usually slim pickings. On that note, it is actually getting even worse and that's saying something.

I bought:

Little Earthquakes by Jennifer Weiner. I'll be honest, I have no clue what I'm getting into but I haven't heard anyone diss one of her books. I have been looking over her books for a while but the book was 10 bucks and well, that's half price up here. I figured it couldn't possibly be that bad. Yeah. A lot of my bad decisions have started with that thought but I'm working on my optimism.

Into the Storm by Suzanne Brockmann (wow! She's finally cleaned up her website, it's not perfect but it looks much better). Six bucks for a brand new paperback from an author I used to love like Cody loves biscuits. I needed a break from her and I'm thinking it's been close to two years since I read a book by her. After checking, it strikes me as ironic that the last book I read by her was called Breaking Point (July 2005) and it's been exactly two years. How many books ahead is she? One. Apparently she needed a break also. I don't plan on reading this one very soon as who needs to get sucked back in right now. I can wait.

Motor Mouth by Janet Evanovich. Six fifty for a book that would cost 11 bucks. Sweet. Evanovich has not quite fallen to the ranks of which I hold MaryJanice Davidson. I only buy certain books by Davidson whereas I have bought all of Evanovich's books. I can't say I really loved the first book in this series but I think it made me smile and right now, that's all I'm expecting from this one. A quick read that will make me smile.

In the end, the joy of tonight was just being able to pick up these books and buy them knowing they may work or maybe they wouldn't and it was okay either way. I have been so dedicated to finding keepers that I didn't realize the anxiety it was producing in my reading. Do I want to read keepers? Damn straight but a good book can soothe the soul also and I have to start remembering that not everything can be the bestest ever. It's okay to like something that has bumps and bruises and the odd moral dilemma that another reader can't stand. I can only give my opinion on a book and I need to loosen up about how I am approaching them.

Reading has always been an escape for me and I have lost that over the past year. I know it has a lot to do with how my mood has been but I was delighted by the freedom I felt tonight in buying a few books that weren't necessarily going to hit the 'winner' button.

I hope I can retain that feeling. It may be only a tiny part of the reading experience but it reminded me of when I first started reading romance. That time when there was a whole section of books by authors you had never read or even heard of before. It was definitely a time of adventure because you never knew what you were going to get and in the end, that was part of the fun.