What I've been up to

I've stopped watching TV for Lent. So far not so bad, but I'm only on my fifth day.

What I've discovered is that I watch way too much TV. I'm kind of amazed at how much time this has freed up. I'm doing a lot of writing and reading, which is pretty cool.

Along those lines, I've decided to make more of an effort to keep up with the blog.

Since I haven't been doing too much, I thought I'd focus on the books I've been reading. Last week it was Deja Dead by Kathy Reichs and A Lion Among Men by Gregory Maguire.

In both cases, I enjoyed aspects of the books, but neither were ones that I imagine I'll read again.

Deja Dead was Reichs debut novel. I've also read Deadly Decisions, Fatal Voyage and Grave Secrets. Not really going in order, but no big deal.

I keep thinking I should give these books a chance to grow on me, and I keep getting disappointed. Part of it is that I came to Reichs' books from watching "Bones" on TV. As a result, my image of Tempe Brennan is based on Emily Deschanel's portrayal, and on Hart Hanson's writing (although Reichs' has written for the series as well, I think Hanson's influence is stronger). The Tempe Brennan in Reichs' books is not much like the one on TV, and what it comes down to is I like TV's Tempe Brennan better.

The story is good: a series of murders in Montreal, a link that Brennan discovers, a search for the killer, Brennan fighting for her life and possibly that of her best friend and daughter. All good stuff. The problem is that Reichs' tends to get into the minutiae of forensic science, often bringing the story to a screeching halt while she describes the science behind the various tests. I don't really need to know how the tests work, just tell me the results. Not to say that it isn't interesting, I just want to keep going with the story.

A Lion Among Men is the third in Gregory Maguire's Oz series. I also read Wicked and Son of a Witch. I feel like I should like these books better than I do. I like the stories, the interesting and complex characters, and the sprawling, messy Oz that Maguire envisions. I just always feel vaguely dissatisfied by the books.

I do like Maguire's writing style, so I think I will try some of his other books and see what I think.