So Many Books…

I run the Spanish Spring Library Mystery Book Club. I’ve volunteered at the library for nearly nine years now and have kind of become the “Mikey” of the volunteers. As in “Let’s get Mikey!”

When budget cuts came along, I was asked to take over – “Hey let’s get Joan to run it! She’ll do anything!”

I had my reservations. I sometimes read mysteries, but I didn’t really think they were my thing.

Boy, was I wrong!

Turns out, the mystery genre encompasses everything from romantic suspense to science fiction thriller. There are cats, there are dogs, there psychopaths, and there are sweet little old ladies. What started as a lark and felt a little bit like homework, has turned into a rather annoyingly long list of ADDITIONAL books that I must read.

That’s been the beauty of this book club – I’ve been exposed to so many new authors. Newly published or classic legends, we’ve had them all. And we’ve read books from all over the world. Turns out that some really great mysteries are coming out of Scandanavia, Italy, and Australia. Who knew?

We also try to read a true-crime book once a year and that’s been educational and fun. Our reading of “The Monster of Florence” gave us a whole new understanding of the Amanda Knox case. Another year, “Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer” tied serendipitously with a Nevada Barr book set at the fort in Florida that had held the Lincoln conspirators.

But the biggest problem I’ve got with this book club thing? I now have an even longer list of authors whose books I want to read.

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