Profundity

If you tick the box that says 'reading' when you fill out a survey about your pastimes then you probably love characters - fictional or historical. I love a good character. I love to fall in love with, hate, or mistrust a cleverly designed protagonist.

Some readers love certain characters so much that they re-read books to re-live their lives with them. Many can't wait for Elizabeth Bennet to say to Darcy 'From the first moment I met you, your arrogance and conceit, your selfish disdain for the feelings of others made me realize that you were the last man in the world I could ever be prevailed upon to marry' over and over again.

I love to follow the adventures of certain characters - one of whom is Stephanie Plum. I just read Smokin' Seventeen. I started reading these Janet Evanovich books with One for the Money in 1994 - so that's what - 15 years ago. These are fast paced, sexy, hilarious books - light but great fun. I've just seen that someone is finally making these into a movie - I'll wait and see.

I have also just finished another book called Women of Letters. This is a nice book. It would be a great present. These are short, little letters. These are clever letters. These are silly letters. These are indulgent letters. This is a nice book.

Last week I read Outlaw Album by Daniel Woodrell. I really loved loved loved Winter's Bone. Outlaw Album is a book of short stories. They are dark and bleak stories. Woodrell seems to tap into the lower socio-economical culture and find little nuggets of treasures there. The stories are not all easy to read - a couple of them are quite hard to understand. The one that stands out most for me is about a woman who works in Rehab at a prison who visits the parents of one of her clients who is in prison for murder (I think). He has written a book of poetry about his criminal life which is very good and selling well. The prison board will let him out if his parents will take him back into their house but they refuse. I can't quote this book because I don't have it anymore but his father says something like 'tell him he has got all the poetry off of us that he is going to get' as he closes the door against the counselor. Woodrell is very good at spinning a tale and his economy of words is wonderful. There is nothing in these stories that doesn't absolutely need to be there. But they are depressing and sad.

So I am ready for something profound now. Something with great thought, deep, and full of insight. I am ready for another novel that takes concentration and commitment. I have time over the Christmas break to sink my literary teeth into a meaty book that I can consume and will sustain me. I need to find this novel so if anyone has any suggestions let me know. I have a couple of books sitting on my night stand that have no profundity but will keep my mind occupied until the great novel of my Christmas reading presents itself to me.