Getting caught up in a good book . . .

By Lonnie Cruse

Last week I was cooking for company and listening to BONES TO PICK by Carolyn Haines. Unfortunately, my MP3 player ran out of battery before I ran out of mashed potatoes to mash or green beans to stir. As the cooking tasks progressed, I found myself wondering what was going on with the characters. What would Tinkie do about her angry husband? What would Sarah Booth do about the men in her life? And more to the point, WHO is the killer? I had to re-charge and still haven't found time to listen to the rest of the book. Grrrr.

I can remember reading a book as a child (stop me if I've told this story before. No? Great!) while my step-mother was driving us somewhere. She turned a corner just as the character in the book fell out of a canoe. I jumped and prepared to swim for it until reality reasserted itself.

I adore getting lost in a good book. Hating to put it down to stir the soup or turn out the lights and go to sleep. I wonder what the characters are getting up to while I'm not looking. And I adore that about writing, wondering what my characters are getting themselves into while I'm busy, away from my laptop. For me, those books generally have to be of a cozy nature with a smidge of humor. However, I will read a thriller or suspense if it keeps my interest and doesn't try to see how many more grey hairs it can give me. Or how much torture can be inflicted on the lead character without killing her/him.

What sort of books have to be pried from your stiff hands before you'll stop reading for the day? Do you ever embarrass yourself by laughing out loud when reading in a public place? (I, for one, can not allow myself to read a Bill Crider or Donna Andrews book anywhere in public. Too embarrassing when I start giggling and snorting.) When you close the book, do you ever feel like you are waking up from a dream? And then do you want to go back to that world right away? In other words, what floats your boat in the book world?