Book Buzz for Saturday

My fabulously talented sister, Crazy Mama, gives great book reviews on her blog. Every time I read one, it makes me want to go out, buy the book, ditch my demanding youngsters and disappear under a tree for a few hours. Better yet—I want to disappear in the Red Mountain Spa because if you actually get to slip away it might as well include a massage, right? My fantasies aside, books are vacations for the unconnected and under-financed. They take us away to worlds we’ve never seen and introduce us to characters we wish were our neighbors—instead of the crazy lady who shakes her finger at my kids if they so much as burp this side of my property line.


Most of my days are total blow-ups. I go in with good intentions, but to-do lists and unexpected projects shoot holes through my schedule so thick that you’d swear I’d been attacked by Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. I come home dazed, confused and smelling of gunpowder. Then I’m welcomed by three hungry children—the boys are hungry for food and the girl is hungry to chat my ear off while try to figure out how to serve tacos without shells (my shopping trips are a joke too). By the time I crawl into bed, my day spent and quivering at my feet, a book is my salvation. It’s my moment of escape. So here’s a few great escapes. Don’t look for high-brow classics or thought provoking commentaries—after bedtime I understand those books about as much as I comprehend wrestling.

1. The Flight by C.F. Runyan. The author may well have been a one hit wonder, but he managed to make time travel actually interesting unlike the disappointing Timeline by Michael Crichton. A crew travels back to World War II in an effort to save the man who discovered the cure for cancer and then took it to his grave when he was killed by enemy forces. What ensues is a fun ride and an actually plausible reason why anyone would want to risk their lives to go back in time.

2. The Irish Warrior by Kris Kennedy. Men are visual, and women have great imaginations. That’s why we love the romance novel. This historical romance features a yummy man, an independent woman and some hot sex. You can quietly steam while your husband snores next to you none the wiser.

3. Any “By the Numbers” book by Janet Evanovich. The woman is a comedic genius. If Hollywood were smart they’d tap Stephanie Plum, the not-so-talented bounty hunter hero in Janet’s novels. I seriously have never laughed so hard as when Stephanie dumped her sometime-boyfriend out on his naked butt and drove away. Thinking better of leaving him naked in a bad neighborhood, she circled the block and tossed him his gun. Classic! All the characters are entertaining and go down as smooth as a chocolate milkshake when you’re on a diet.