Fluff Be Gone

Ok, So Judith Michael's Pot of Gold finally bit the dust. I simply couldn't handle it anymore. I decided that it fell into the category of "life is too short". The book that I read before this one was boring too but at least there was potential for character growth. I didn't see that anywhere in this book. The gyst of the story was: a working class woman wins a 60 million dollar lottery and how it changes her life. Ok, I can get on board with winning a lottery. Big Time! Whoever said "money can't buy happiness" most assuredly had no money problems. Trust me, right now there are few things in life that would make me happier than winning a lottery. (please note that I did say "few"). Money would get the wolves away from my door. Money would allow me to own a pair of running shoes that have not been chewed by the dog. Money would allow me frivolities like a trip to the eye doctor and dentist. Yes, money would certainly make me much happier, and to some degree, even healthier, right now. But oh, the things this woman in the novel expected money to do for her! I read what part of the book I read with one question repeating in my mind. "Do people really believe this crap?" Sadly I think too often, the answer is "yes". Scary concept. Our heroine seemed to think that money could buy her a self confidence she had never before had. She also seemed to think that she could "fit in" places she never had before because with money came a sense of entitlement. Hmm..... perhaps I am the one missing something here, but I rather think if the impossible did happen and I one a lottery tomorrow, after the initial euphoria wore off (which I figure would take about 2 minutes) my first emotion would be dead fear! I don't know what to do with large amounts of money! I'm poor. I have always been poor. Entitled? Me? Ha! What would I do with 60 million dollars (for instance)? I could speculate all day long and never come up with concrete answers. Until and unless I am in the position, I really have no way of knowing exactly what I would do or think or how I would act. Yes, it would help tremendously and I could finally go home, but there truly are some things that money really cannot buy, like self confidence and love, and I'm missing those things too. But at least I don't expect that money could ever buy them. As far as a sense of entitlement goes, I don't even want that! In short, this woman got on my last nerve so I turfed the book.

Which brings me to my latest tome. Crisis by Robin Cook. So far, so good. A medical thriller with believeable characters and an enjoyable (so far) storyline. It has raised a couple of odd and/or interesting questions though. It's a novel written by an MD. Which means that there are plenty of references to actual medical terms. Are the terms and scenarios that are being described and depicted in this novel true to life? I know nothing about the medical proffession. For all I know this guy could just be really well spoken or even just really good with a thesaurus! The bottom line for me is - it doesn't matter. I dont care if he's an uber scientist/doctor/medical researcher or simply a good writer. He's given me a book that appeals to my intelligence, my love for thrillers and an escape from the mundane. His characters are believable on 2 fronts. 1) they are very well written and developed, and 2) some of them have appeared in earlier Robin Cook novels that I have read so it's rather like catching up with old friends. I like that in a novel. Recurring characters have always been a favorite of mine when choosing reading material.

So, for now at least, Robin Cook is what's on board for me. Every once in a while I even think about the medical parts of the book and do a little online research of my own. It's fun. Sometimes.

My question to you, dear reader, is this: "Can you read a novel you don't totally and completely understand and still enjoy it"? Or better (or perhaps worse) "Can you read a novel that you know perhaps a little bit about (if you were say, some kind of medical practioner), spot errors and simply overlook them and enjoy the book for it's own sake"? It is after all, a work of fiction, a novel. Not the new England Journal of Medicine (and you thought I learned nothing from reading!).

Food for thought. Or at least that is my hope. So for now, it's me, Robin Cook, Jack Stapleton (major character's name) and an enjoyable evening.

Until next time, read on friends and keep in touch.
.