Evanovich

I was going through my spreadsheet this morning looking under the tab for Fiction (where I list everything that's not a romance) searching the WANT list, when I came across Evanovich's Ten Big Ones. WTF?? I was sure I had read this so I checked my reading log for 2004... no, not there. Then I checked the synopsis on AAR ... no, that didn't sound familiar. What happened? I have Eleven On Top on reserve at the library and I thought I was all caught up and current. I am number 64 out of 155 on the reserve list for EOT.

Shit, now I'm going to have to get my hands on TBO before I get EOT. I have this obsession (OCD I'm sure) about reading books in a series in order (I know... it's a sickness). There is always an enormous backlog of holds for these books. Shit, shit, shit. Maybe I'll have to go buy it. Is it out on paperback? Whew, I just checked the library holds for TBO and there is no backlog so I have got it on hold.

While I'm on the subject of Evanovich.. out there in romance reading land there is always much complaining about the lack of resolution of the relationship between Stephanie, Joe, and Ranger. Also, complaints abound that these books are always the same: Stephanie blows up car again, can't decide between Joe and Ranger (there are two camps in romance reader land), her immature antics, etc. Well, I think it's time to just accept it and get over it. I've come to look at these books as strictly comedy with a little murder mystery thrown in. Evanovich is never going to resolve anything with Stephanie. Just accept these books as a chance to have a good laugh and forget about Joe and Ranger. There is never going to be a HEA for
Stephanie. Of course, I see how people have come to have these expectations. Evanovich used to write romance and her romance fans have followed her switch in genre. Romance readers always like a HEA (I'm one of those too) but it's just not going to happen.

I don't know how many times I have been listening to these books on tape in the car and have almost had an accident (involving either my car or my pants). I'm laughing like a hyena while alone in the car sitting at a stop light and I'm sure people are staring at me. I don't care. These books are just plain funny. OK, they are silly too, but I love her characters. Lula, grandma, her mother and father, Vinnie, and all the assorted nut cases that populate these books. How many different ways can you blow up a car? Evidently, many, but that's part of the "charm" of these books.

I was just pondering something. How many more Stephanie Plum books do you think Evanovich has in her? OK, consider... if she is about 40 (completely pulled this out of my ass. I really have no idea how old she is) and she writes about 1 book per year, and let's say she retires when she's extremely wealthy at age 60 (another massive guess). That means she will have written over 30 Stephanie books! Of course, Stephanie will still be immature and still undecided about Joe or Ranger. Wow, what would the titles of those books be??? Twelve ?, Thirteen ?, Fourteen ?, Fifteen ?, etc.... After Twenty the titles start looking kind of stupid. Twenty-something??? Well, maybe twenty will look like a good number to stop with. We can only hope.