Plum Spooky

Just like all the men in her life, you have to love Stephanie Plum, Janet Evanovich's indominable protagonist because she's just so...well...spunky. She never lets her lack of skill or penchant for being in the wrong place at the wrong time get in the way of pursuing those pesky FTA's (failure to appear) that are the source of income for a bounty hunter. Something always blows up, her car always gets trashed, there are always too many gorgeous sexy men vying for her attention, Grandma Mazur and other incredibly weird and wonderful characters always make you laugh. How can you argue with a formula like that. The main hunk in this book is one I hadn't met before--Diesel (with no last name). He has an uncanny ability to open locked doors, start cars without keys and just general spooky things ordinary humans can't. But his cousin Wolf, who Diesel is hunting, and who is hunting Stephanie for not good motives, is even spookier. He can kill just by touching you, so you don't want to piss him off. Have fun--I did!

Pillars of the Earth

I haven't read Ken Follett in a very long time (think Eye of the Needle, or Key to Rebecca) but I wanted something that would last the length of time I had to spend in airports and planes while travelling in December, and this certainly met the bill. You would have to say this is a "meaty" work with substantial amounts of detail, not just about the political maneuverings during this time period (England from 1123 - 1174), but about the nitty gritty of how to build a cathedral. I certainly can't fault Follett on his research, but I did feel bogged down occasionally. You did truly come to know the characters and there is quite a cast, including some wonderful strong women who broke the mold and paid the consequences; however, I doubt that they would have chosen to try and conform if they had it to do over. Some wielded power by manipulating men, some by gaining money, and some by withdrawing from general society. Apparently there is now (18 years after Pillars) a sequel to this work called World without End.