I haven't read a single book since Elliot was born (excluding excerpts from reference material), not that I read a whole lot before he was born either. I wouldn't say I love to read, but I do love the idea of reading. As a child I hated reading and my mother spent every summer vacation trying to get me to read. I would sit there counting the minutes until the allotted time frame for which I had to read was complete (sometimes she got smart and required me to read x number of pages). Instead of just reading the books I would see how long it would take to read one page and then calculate how many pages I would have to read before I would be done with my 1/2 hour requirement. I would test this theory by seeing how long 2 pages took, and then 3 and so on. It's no wonder I had trouble with comprehension - HA!

In college I got into reading from an academic perspective, as a Sociology major you didn't really have much of choice. I enjoyed the theory, but I fell in love with reading the real life "stories", though they were often sad and made you somehow feel hopeless instead of hopeful.

As a post-college adult I discovered books that were fiction but that blended reality, sometimes unsure which was which. The Tales of The City series (OMG! there's a new book!) were the first in this style of books that I began to enjoy for that "Frasier" quality. Lighthearted enough to read before bed, but not too far off the mark to have really happened.

A couple of weeks ago I was listening to my daily morning radio news (of which I am sure Elliot will complain about as soon as he starts talking) and there were two Murder Mystery authors being interviewed, on Forum with Michael Krasny - strange, I know. Both of these authors based their stories right here in the great bay-area. I was too anxious to read them, so I hoped on amazon and viola they appeared one day at work in my littile 'ol mailbox!

Anyway, I am so excited that I took a chance on this first one...Judgement Day. This story is written by a San Francisco Lawyer about a legal duo who has 8 days to save a man who is sitting on death row at San Quentin from being executed. Every night I came home, ate dinner, washed dishes, prepped Elliot's food and showered a little faster than usual just so I could steal 30 minutes to see how the case was progressing. It was an excellent story with wonderful little historical facts about San Francisco from the people who know the city. If you have lived in or near San Francisco, you'll have fun with this story - I promise. I don't think it has hooked me on the genre of Murder Mystery, but I will keep an open mind as I read SharpShooter - food, wine & murder in The Napa Valley - eeek!

Labels: Thinking