Hello and welcome to my world

My name is Jody S. and I'm a reader. I read everything. Literally. I read the backs of the shampoo bottles in a hotel. I read cereal boxes. I'm addicted to my British newspaper app. And I read all nature of books. History, biography, mystery, cookbooks, philosophy/religion, archeology, and so on and so on and so on--you get the idea. I'm particularly fond of Brits in all their many splendoured writings. I do read Americans now and again. But mostly only American mystery writers.

That long-winded introduction leads to my current distress--I'm having a hard time finding anything that really interests me right now. It's not the fault of the authors. Let me be clear that this is a Jody problem. My bookcases overflow with many of my favorite authors' newest books. I also have about 20 acquired at Bouchercon which are "let's try these books." This book malaise resembles the "nothing sounds good for dinner" malaise. I'm unsure what I wish to snarf down next.

Reading books I've read before signals the onset of this problem. I just finished Excellent Women by Barbara Pym. I've read this more than once, but it's one of my go to books when I feel the need to reinterest myself in reading. I enjoyed it. Pym has the most incredible internal dialogue going on in her characters' heads. She's one of those authors I feel compelled to read aloud to whoever is nearby (sorry, David). She delights me. I thought that would cure my reading doldrums. Hmmm.

Next up was Carolyn Hart with Merry, Merry Ghost. I borrowed this from my mother, so I felt that I should read it and return it. Bailey Ruth is a ghost sent to earth to help some mortal in distress. There are many rules about the conduct of the ghostly emissary broken into pieces by Bailey Ruth. Bailey Ruth is an engaging character, incorrigible in her methods. The plots don't really amount to much, but then, they don't really need to. It is a lovely piece of fluff. Although I wasn't swept away by the plot, the characters jumped right out of the book. Unlike most books with secondary characters, this book delineates each and every one. It's pretty easy to sketch in the red herring characters, leaving the reader unclear about the difference between George and Charlie or Mary and Debbie. I think Agatha Christie does this all the time. So the strength in this series is the character portrayal. I admit I prefer Hart's Death on Demand series. I enjoy the setting in those, as well as the characters. I hate readers who say the setting is a character, but it is in these books. And the fact that it is a resort island influences many of the plots. Bailey Ruth didn't release the doldrums. I was still at a loss.

After the unconscionable pugilism surrounding the health care debate, I felt I needed a more civilized brand of psychopath. So I'm now rereading The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith. Ok, this was what I needed to return to reading. We had seen Matt Damon as Ripley, and we were disappointed in the adaptation of the book. Halfway through the book again, I'm seeing why the movie didn't suit. That atmospheric, homoerotic mood of the book is totally overlooked. Perhaps the inability of a movie to depict the claustrophic internal dialogue contributes to its failure. I'm blown away by Highsmith's ability to make me like this damaged and very unpleasant little thief and murderer. I want him to get away with things. It turns the quest for justice of a mystery novel on its head. I enjoy my psychopaths with more straightforward motives, which is why I dislike hypocritical, psychopathic politicians. You know who you are.

Here's hoping Tom Ripley puts my reading back on track. God knows, it's been a train wreck lately. Let's do some reading.