Always More to Read

 Don Tillman is socially awkward to the extreme.  He's a super brainy geneticist, but he's woefully inadequate when it comes to interacting with the beings that those genes create.

The endearing thing is that he knows it, to a degree. He also knows that he needs a partner in life.  He tackles that problem with the Wife Project, an effort to find his perfect mate through a detailed questionnaire.  It's during the Wife Project that Rosie enters his life.  She's hideously unsuitable for him, and yet, over time, she worms into his heart with her wacky ways.  The Wife Project runs concurrently with the Father Project, which is the name for Don's attempt to track down Rosie's biological father. 

It's a funny, sweet story.  Kind of like Don, the book grows on you. Don isn't that interesting at first and not terribly likable.  But as you get to know him, you start to care about him.  He's struggling, like all of us, to find where he fits in and find someone who gets him.  When Rosie enters the picture, madcap hijinks balance the more serious elements.

I really enjoyed the book and was delighted to learn that a sequel is in the works.  I want to know what happens to this crazy pair, and you will, too.

 Boswell Books in Milwaukee is packed with author events as well as books.  If there's not something going on every night of the week, it sure seems like it.  My husband and I attended a book launch there in mid-August and, in the process, I discovered a new writer.

Louise Penny is a latecomer to writing.  After retiring in her 30s from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation to write, it took her five years to complete her first novel: Still Life. Lack of interest from agents and publishers almost kept the book from being published, but persistence paid off.  That book became the first in a series of Chief Inspector Gamache books.  Chief Inspector Armand Gamache is a homicide detective with the Sûreté du Québec, and How the Light Gets In is the ninth tale in his saga. 

I had never heard of Louise Penny, and I was surprised to learn that she was such a prolific mystery writer.  I love mysteries, especially series if I like the lead.  None of the characters she chatted about at the launch party meant anything to me, but I liked her a lot.  She was funny and smart and self-deprecating, and I was intrigued by what she had to say about Québec and her struggles with writing.  For the price of attendance, we got refreshments and a signed copy of the book. It was a well spent $25.

I devoured the book nearly overnight, cooled in the Milwaukee heat by the wintry chill of the Québec winter.  In How the Light Gets In, Chief Inspector Gamache is dealing with a murder in the quaint, off-the-beaten-path town of Three Pines at Christmastime.  But, he's also dealing with the demise of his career and the disintegration of his friendship with his longtime second-in-command Jean Guy Beauvoir.

I would describe the writing as spare or lean, meaning not flowery or overly descriptive, and yet it's not stingy.  I felt very much part of the world Gamache and the townspeople of Three Pines inhabit, and the emotions described were palpable.  The main mystery was suspenseful; the subplots were also engaging and surprising.  It was a great read, and I'm now painting in the backstory by reading Still Life.

How lucky I am to have another seven books after this one to keep me grounded in Three Pines!

I picked up Capitol Hell at our neighborhood Barnes & Noble, while my husband and I were still in Vegas, before we headed out full-time in the RV.

One of the authors was there, standing behind a small table near the front, talking about the book.  I always like meeting authors in person and supporting their efforts by buying the book.  This one appealed to me beyond that because of the trendy cover and the fact that I've worked in government, for the State of Nevada.  I also have a girlfriend who works for a congressman. 

This is essentially a "small town girl has adventures in the big city" story with the big city, in this case, being Washington, DC, particularly the Senate.

The main character, Allison, is Pollyanna to the extreme; everything she says is punctuated with exclamation marks.  At first, you think it's bad writing.  But, slowly, as the book progresses, things change.  Allison's enthusiasm for her work as scheduler to the (fictional) newly-elected and rising star of the United States Senate, Senator Anders McDermott III, wanes.  She is overworked and subject to the wacky whims and foibles of the political staff.  All of this is reflected in the way her dialogue is written.  What started out as grating became an excellent mechanism for communicating the characters' evolution.  Plus, given my experience and that of my girlfriend, the antics ring disturbingly true.

I recommend this book as a fun read and an engaging glimpse into the inner workings of Washington.