I am not about to abandon my life to take off on a world tour to “find myself,” but I can completely empathize with why Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love, did. This book is on my favorites list because she did what I think many of us – myself included – wish we could. I understand this crisis that seems to occur in your thirties of who you are versus what everyone thinks you should be. Yes, you’re able to look back on your life thus far and be proud of what you’ve accomplished, but you still fill unfulfilled.

Most of us probably ride this crisis out. We somehow surf through the mental games we’re playing while still tending to our real lives. Elizabeth Gilbert chose another route. Fresh off a divorce and a deep depression, she took a time out to  re-evaluate…get close to…what she was feeling, and she did it unencumbered and in countries completely foreign to her. Eat, Pray, Love is her diary, of sorts, of that period in her life. It’s compelling and authentic and also quite amusing.

I actually saw the movie first and was so affected by her story that I purchased the book to get the whole tale. I was surprised to find the book to be so well-rounded and just as optimistic as the movie had been. At points I even wondered how the screenwriters were able to narrow the work down.

I think Eat, Pray, Love hits on a truth: we all need to spend some time within ourselves so that we can be our most authentic selves and not just some personality that everyone else thinks we should be. Elizabeth’s insightful and wonderfully personal story inspires me to be more introspective, even if I can’t travel the globe to do it.

With love,
Tuesday

When I grow up, I want to be Auntie Mame! No, seriously. I’ve always thought Auntie Mame was so cosmopolitan  – and way ahead of her time. She was open-minded and forward thinking – yet, completely conservative when she needed to be. Best of all, she stuck to her guns. Always.

Without a doubt, Auntie Mame is my favorite fictional character and the reason I love her namesake book so much. Patrick Dennis, the author of Auntie Mame, created such a memorable, loveable, and completely flawed character…she is etched in my heart forever. His portrayal of this crazy aunt and her outlandish lifestyle is both sympathetic and comical and should not be missed.

Should you ever see the movie adaptation of this book, I assure you that despite how wonderfully Rosalind Russell portrays Auntie Mame, it does not do the book justice. The best way to see Auntie Mame’s lavish, Oriental-themed party, her clanging stage performance, or her wild horseback ride that defies all odds is to read them for yourself. You simply must, dah-ling. You simply must. I promise it will be a treat you won’t want to end.

With love,
Tuesday

When I first met my husband, he was renting a two-story house with two other guys. He claimed the master suite as his domain; it was a very open area with a large sitting room that you stepped into the moment you entered the suite. On one wall in the sitting room was a tall, mahogany-colored bookcase. Books lined the shelves, of course, along with art objects, but what immediately caught my eye the first time I saw it, was a row of black, leather-bound volumes with gold lettering on the spines. Each one regally announced its title – Mrs. McGinty’s Dead,  The A.B.C. Murders, And Then There Were None – and then their author…Agatha Christie. I’m pretty sure the moment I saw those books – twenty-six of them neatly lined up in a row – was the moment I fell in love with him.

Agatha Christie is such a literary gem. I mean, amazing. Honestly, I could list ten of her books on this favorites list. Trying to narrow it down to just one was actually quite difficult for me, and I’m still not sure if I made the best choice. However, just to have A.C. represented on this list is enough.

The mystery of the Murder on the Orient Express is one that really never should have been. Originally when the victim comes to Hercule Poirot, the extraordinary Belgian detective, for help, he tells him no because he can’t stand the sight of the man’s face. But, as fate would have it, Poirot finds himself interrupted by the man’s murder and must belatedly help him anyway.

Perhaps the reason I finally settled on Murder on the Orient Express as a favorite is because it’s one of the A.C. mysteries where justice is served in a less than traditional fashion. I know for most readers it is more satisfying to have a neat and tidy ending. A story that wraps up with the culprit getting caught and being brought to justice feels good. But a more memorable – and for me, a more lasting – ending occurs when things don’t go as we expect. I don’t mind a novel where the murderer gets away or justice isn’t served. An unwrapped ending gives your brain something to gnaw on. Murder on the Orient Express isn’t exactly all that, but its ending does serve up a tilted sense of justice that may come at odds with one’s principles.

These are the kinds of surprises I love about Agatha Christie novels and why she is one of my favorite authors. I admit that I can sometimes get confused by her bloated casts of characters, but the mysteries are enjoyable enough that I am willing to muddle through. As for whether I prefer Hercule Poirot or Ms. Marple, A.C.’s two recurring detectives…I don’t love either of them 100%. I find Ms. Marple something of a busybody and Poirot is almost irritatingly arrogant. And yet, somehow, their flaws are what make them appealing. It makes them human. And in no Agatha Christie novel is a detective’s humanity shown more than in Murder on the Orient Express.

With love,
Tuesday

I know that all of you are anxious to read about my first pick in my new blog series, but let’s handle some business. First, I tried to come up with a clever name for this little series, but I came up with nothing. So, it is what it is. Second, I feel like I should tell you that the books in this series are not presented in any particular order. We’re not counting down to #1. I love these titles for different reasons and in different ways. While I do have an all-time favorite book {which will be revealed some time during this series}, I wouldn’t dare try to rank it among all the books I’ve read. It wouldn’t be an oranges vs. oranges comparison. Third, this series won’t include all of my favorite books, only twenty of my favorite books. I wish I could share them all – and perhaps some day I will – but for now, twenty is plenty. Finally, as a warning, some of my book choices may be eye-roll worthy, embarrassing, and down right nauseating {I’m pretty sure there are at least a couple of books that are going to make you want to gag yourself with a spoon}; my favorites aren’t for everyone. But I don’t care. Judge away! It will give you something to tell your friends about.

Okay. Enough of that. On to my first favorite book…

***

Initially I wasn’t sure where I wanted to start this series. Did I want to begin with my favorite book? A classic book? Something fun that immediately said something about who I am? But it only took a few moments to realize that I had to start with “A” is for Alibi by Sue Grafton. I mean, c’mon! The title begs to be first.

Kinsey Millhone, the book’s main character, and I have been friends for a long time. For those unfamiliar, “A” is for Alibi is the first book in a series revolving around Ms. Millhone, private investigator. I picked up this Sue Grafton mystery off a school library shelf some time early in junior high – which was back in 1980-something. Although I had long been a fan of mysteries {I read A LOT of Encyclopedia Brown and Nancy Drew growing up}, “A” is for Alibi was the first “adult” mystery I had really ever read. I was enamored.

Kinsey, as I was introduced to her then, was unsentimental, smart enough, and fiercely independent – all things I aspired to be when I grew up. As an added bonus, she was a private investigator who solved crimes. What was not to love? She made such an impression on me that I quickly became her loyal and devoted fan – so much so that I stayed dedicated even as I grew older while she did not.

As of this date, Sue Grafton’s mystery series is at “V,” having worked its way through each letter of the alphabet. Although the latest title was published in 2011*, Kinsey Millhone still operates in 1988. Just like in the first book, she investigates without internet or cell phones…no Facebook or Google. She does her research in libraries, she hunts down suspects in phone books, and finds her way with paper maps. It’s glorious in a way.

“A” is for Alibi, out of all the titles in the series, wins a spot on my favorites list because it was the one that captured me for a lifetime. Although it’s been a long while since I last read it, I have no doubt that Kinsey would cut through the crap, catch the culprit, and win my heart all over again.

With love,
Tuesday

*The next title, “W” is for Wasted is due out in September 2013! Can’ wait!