Plum Lovin' Janet Evanovich

Very funny, cheap, escapist fiction; well-drawn characters

Good Dog. Stay. Anna Quindlen

Yesterday I read two books, obviously neither was long. The first one was Good Dog. Stay. by Anna Quindlen. Mostly it was a talk about her beloved dog Beau, but anyone who has had a dog, raised children along side the dog, and then had to watch that dog sink into death, will really find themself in her story. There are a lot of pictures of various dogs, and not much text, but it made me laugh , cry, and sigh. It occcured to me after I finished reading it that the title, and the way it was punctuated, could just be obedience commands, or the wish for the good dog to stay longer.

The Almost Moon Alice Sebold

A book by the author of The Lovely Bones, about family relationships. The jacket notes say "Claire and Helen Knightly are a parent and child locked in a relationship so unrelenting they have become the center of each others worlds." But as the book opens, Helen has killed her demented mother, and stuffed her body into the freezer. In the next 24 hours she tells her husband, children, and we get to know her father, neighbors, and friends. Really well-written, and very readable.

Born Standing Up Steve Martin

I learned some things, and had a great time reliving a time I gre up in, but I found it a little self-indulgent, as how can an auto biography not be I guess. The name dropping was a little old by the end. On the back jacket is a quote by Jerry Seinfeld saying this book is one of the best books about comedy, and being a comedian. Maybe it is all I need to know about either.

"T" Sue Grafton

She's getting even better! This one is about a nurse, who having stolen identities, preys on elderly clients-including one of Kinsey's neighbors. You can read each of Sue Graftons novels by themselves, although she uses some of the same characters in each; the characters seem like old friends after you have read a few. I can't wait for the next one.