A Taste of Mystery a la Spellman

After years of gobbling up literary classics, historical fiction and chick-lit hits, I am breaking into a new genre. Not fantasy… that was so the new thing for me six months ago—my reading habits are constantly evolving. Mystery books, here I come!

Naturally, it all began at work. I spend several hours a day staring at books in every genre (*the worst of which are found in the ever-messy Craft/Hobby section*). A week ago, I organized the mystery section again. Only this time, I was drawn in to several titles.

For Austen fans, there are mystery series that star Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy or even Jane Austen herself. There are even mysteries that have a flavor similar to a romance novel. Mysteries solved by cats, mysteries solved from the beyond, mysteries solved by cooks (and saturated with recipes). Despite all the years my childhood home has bubbled over with mystery books (my mom is an avid reader), I am only now taking conscious notice of the genre.

My first taste in the world of mysteries is a series written by Lisa Lutz. The Spellman Files is the first of the series. Let me tell you, it is a great read. My bet is that I fall within the age range of Ms. Lutz’s target audience (*I get the impression that the series is the publisher’s chance to draw in a younger demographic of  readers to the mystery genre*).

I am not about the summarize the novel—especially since I have yet to finish it—but suffice it to say that being part of a family filled with individuals trained in Private Investigation tactics results in constant chaos.

Can anyone say movie/TV potential? Yup, I can see it coming…

Check out Ms. Lutz’s website for more about this entertaining series: Lisa Lutz

What’s the story, Teresa?

Jack Russell terriers: dogs with perpetually boundless character. I adore my Jack Russell–and miss him terribly as he does not live with me. Granted, there have been times when his wily character tried my patience but his spunk is also the reason why I adore him. No matter how many socks he steals or how often he refuses to listen to me when I command him to ‘stop frisking the pillow,’ I easily forgive his transgressions because he is so damn cute and clever.

While perusing my previous posts, I discovered a link between my style of posting and the theme of the old PBS kid’s show Wishbone. Wishbone stared a Jack Russell named *GASP* Wishbone. Despite the presence of ‘actual actors,’ Wishbone stole to spotlight… paws down. Every episode, Wishbone would highlight how the events in his world brought to mind the story lines of classic literature. The audience would then travel into Wishbone’s imagination to witness a reenactment of the classic’s summary. Naturally, Wishbone would don a costume during these sequences and play the part of the protagonist. Ok, so I am not really in favor of dressing up animals, but Wishbone sure made a cute Robin Hood.

To tie this all together– finally –my blog reminds me of Wishbone. I use my posts as an opportunity to depict the way in which my daily life reminds me of instances in different media. Though it is highly unlikely that I will one day put on a costume and reenact the scenes on camera and then post the videos to You Tube, I am comforted by the fact that I have an imagination analogous to a Jack Russell terrier’s imagination.

Wait, did I really type’ comforted?’ Hmm, that does not speak very highly of me. Ah, who cares, the Jack Russell that played Wishbone is a million times more talented. I mean, if I put on a Robin Hood costume and jump in the air, no one will reward me with a beef-flavored treat. I lose.