In Which I Defend My Recent Junk Food Diet

I promise I have not ceased to be, nor have I ceased to read. Autumn at my house means one thing: I am reading my equivalent of junk TV--murder mysteries. It seems like every year when early darkness and Halloween roll around, I gravitate toward mysteries, which I read until I am sated. I can't join the fun and watch scary movies or read scary books, because I want to sleep again before I die, but murder mysteries I can handle. In my defense, I do try to choose fairly well-written mysteries. I opt for nuanced plots and lots of mood, setting, and character development. After reading novels set in different historical periods, you feel like you have traveled to some distant place and time. The better-written of these books can improve both your vocabulary and your knowledge of history. Besides, anything that makes your life more enjoyable can't be a complete waste of time.

So, to Ms. E, who asked me tonight, "Read any good books lately?" Here's the list. I'm still working my way through some of these:

Elizabeth George's Inspector Lynley series;

Laurie King's Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series ;

Ariana Franklin's Mistress in the Art of Death series;

Lindsey Davis' Marcus Didius Falco series;

Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael series, and

CJ Sansom's Matthew Shardlake series.

Happy reading, people. Remember, more darkness just means a built-in excuse for tackling that TBR pile.