I'm not a big reader. Books usually put me to sleep. Literally. I fall asleep every time I pick up a book. That made it really difficult to get through college, especially my Senior Theory class. (*cough* Paul *cough*). There were several times when I would start on my reading assignment, and the next thing I knew, my roommate was waking me up, my face plastered to the textbook. Reading just isn't something I enjoy. Given the option between music and reading, I would take the music every time.
However, every once in a while a book will catch my interest and actually keep me awake. Janet Evanovich is an author that does just that. Author of the "One For the Money" (the Stephanie Plum series) and "Wicked Appetite" (the Lizzie and Diesel series), Janet is a terrific writer. She writes characters with depth to them, who get into crazy situations, and have a remarkable wit about them.
Stephanie Plum is a female bounty hunter who finds herself in all kinds of mind-boggling situations: burning down funeral homes, chasing alligators down alleyways, body-slamming criminals, having her car fire-bombed. She is in on-again/off-again relationships with a cop named Morelli (the boy next door who grew up to be the good guy next door), and an ex-military man named Ranger (who is a mostly good guy with bad-guy tendencies). He partner in crime is an ex-hooker who is street smart, but doesn't always have the best control over her attitude. With the combination of characters, there is no limit to the kinds of trouble that Stephanie Plum finds herself in.
The Lizzie and Diesel series is a little more...supernatural. Lizzie is a cupcake maker going about her normal routine when a dangerously handsome man named Diesel waltzes into her life and messes everything up. He tells Lizzie that she has paranormal abilities of locating magically enhanced objects, and that she must help him locate stones that represent the 7 deadly sins. Living in Salem, Massachusetts only adds to the spooky factor of the storyline, but once again, Janet Evanovich creates characters that you would be hard-pressed to forget with circumstances that make you bust out laughing.
As a not-so-avid-reader, I know that it seems silly for me to be recommending books to you; however, when a book can make me literally laugh out loud, and feel invested in the characters' lives, I believe it is a book worth a recommendation. Let me put it this way: I don't enjoy reading, but I read 26 books in one summer that were all written by Janet Evanovich. That alone should tell you how interesting they are. So go out, pick up a book, and laugh until your side hurts. You can thank me later.
Still not convinced? Here are a few quotes from Janet's books:
"I didn't want to burst his bubble, but the only time Ranger wouldn't look out of place would be standing in a lineup between Rambo and Batman."
"Don't let Grandma play with my gun!"
"There was no good way to tell my mother I was being stalked by a homicidal drag queen."
"I'm a Catholic by birth, but in my own personal religion, the Trinity will forever be the Father, the Son, and the Holy Jelly Donut."
"I can walk 3 miles in 4-inch heels and I can shop Morelli in the ground, but I don't do running."
"Calories don't count if they're connected to a celebration. Everyone knows that."
"Sometimes it's good to have an ex-hooker as a crime-fighting partner."
