Before our discussion of The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint I made some prediction of who would and who would not like the book. I was 100% WRONG! No one like the book except me. Of course, the critics are on my side, but that's no help when faced with a group of possessed women who would have done oh so evil things to the the author had he been present. Actually, it wasn't that bad. In fact, we had a rather lively discussion even thought we never speculated on why Edgar's middle name was Presley.
Our group selects titles in a most casual way. If we have a suggestion, we drop it into a latte mug and someone grabs a slip . That's it. Well, for a reason I can't explain or understand. someone put in a title by Brady Udall, the author of the much despised "Edgar" and -you guessed it - that's the title that was selected. Makes me happy.
This isn't the first time I have been on the opposite end of the discussion. Olive Kitteridge. The Family Fang. Those are two of the titles that rank high on my list. books I will advocate for, and again, the critics sided with me, so I must be really smart, right? Inso? Ya? And FYI, by "Critics" I mean the real deal, not the people who blow smoke on GoodReads or the evil empire's website.
Each meeting, I am tempted to suggest The Borrower, the story of a young boy who kidnaps a librarian, but I will hold off on that one until the Udall wounds heal. I spent some time questioning why this weekend. Why do certain books appeal to me with a strength that is hard to describe, while those same book fall into the near nauseating category for so many others? The common bond of all these love-it-or-hate it books seems to be eccentric, quirky characters. Must be my theatre work, hmmm. One of my directing professors stressed looking for the oddities is people - the little ticks, habits, and beliefs - that made them who they are. I enjoy those "oddities" about people, and am happy that my friends represent a colorful palette of personalities. It must be those traits that draw me to certain characters. Could it be that I identify with them on my own quirky level? Egads!
But, all that aside, I can hardly express how excited I am to be well into the sixth installment of the Chet and Bernie books. In this new book, the team that comprises The Little Detective Agency , Bernie an ex-police officer and his four legged partner, Chet, find themselves hired by a criminal that they sent up the river. Frenchie comes from a family of black sheep but needs help locating his brother Ralph, the one law abiding member of his family. The investigation leads the pair to the Louisiana bayou where they meet the no-good Boutette family and their enemies, the even worse Robiseau clan. Chet, of course, uses his nose to track clues, and manages to scarf down beef jerky and most other edibles in his path. His pal Iggy is back, making his first appearance in a window very early in the book. Iggy's owners are too old to let him out to play with Chet, so the pals visit though an intricately coded set of rhythmic barks and jumps from inside their respective homes.
It's all too much fun. I can't wait to read more this afternoon, but I'm sad knowing a full year will pass before another case comes along for the guys.
Heart-A-Rama news? Directors met yesterday to read scripts for the 2014 show. Fun stuff. I'll try to put some info on the HAR blog by the end of the week. www.heartarama.blogspot.com.
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