I have a very good friend,
Mary, in California. I’ve never actually
met her personally, but we have been cyber-friends for so long that I think we
might now be related through osmosis. I
owe this friend a wonderful debt of gratitude because she sent me something in
the mail several years ago, something that she sensed I needed, and something
that started an obsession for me.
She sent me my first
Stephanie Plum novel. I have since read
all twenty-one, saw the one and only movie (it is better than critics claim),
and have devoured most of the other stuff written by/with Plum author Janet
Evanovich.
Why does this matter to
anyone but me (and Mary)?
It matters because today I
decide to reorder my fiction book shelves.
Oh, sure, you might be
reading so quickly that you miss the fact that I call these my “fiction”
shelves. That’s because I have them set
up in my reading room/office for quick access.
I also have my professional books here (school and writing), sheet
music, maps, some nonfiction stuff, and craft/sewing books here. Downstairs in the den? That’s an entirely different animal as there
are a few hundred books down there, too.
Oh, and the landing at the top of the stairs to the bedrooms? There’s a bookcase full of academia, poetry,
and rare/old books.
At the risk of taking
weeks to reorganize, I just stick with the fiction today. As I’m going through the Evanovich section, I
realize that I am missing two books from the Plum series, books that I borrowed
from the library and assumed I could live without. This would be a mistaken assumption.
Then, I check out my collection
of Evanovich’s Alexandra Barnaby series and realize that I am also missing the
newest one of those, and I’m behind one book (with another coming out soon) in
the Kate O’Hare/Nick Fox series, as well.
I’m missing several of the “Full” series Evanovich wrote with Charlotte
Hughes, too, but I already read those and can probably get by without them. And don’t even get me started on the new
Wicked book coming out today. The Wicked
novels are not my favorite of Evanovich’s books, but still.
Okay, so the books are
fast and easy reads, but Evanovich is entertaining. Her writing is quick-witted, engaging, and
hilarious. Laugh out loud hilarious.
As I rearrange my shelves,
I’m leaving space to fill-in some of the missing pieces. Not all of them, mind you. I don’t need a few of them, but I do need to
plug in the holes of the Plum series.
Thank you, Mary, for what
you’ve created: The Plum Monster! I’m
Plum Lucky you sent me that first book.
Thanks, friend!
