How Terribly Shocking It All Is.

Why would anyone choose to read books about missing husbands, extramarital dalliances, a wealthy murdered couple, epic crazy wild parties and an abducted presidential daughter?

Apparently a whole lot of us do because those are the topics of the most recent New York Times best sellers. 

I suppose we’re reacting to a bit of the aftermath of the solitude and quarantine of Covid.  During that time, we listened to and read way too much discouraging and upsetting news.  The Olympics didn’t do much to alleviate stress and we’ve streamed all the old movies and British mysteries.  Of course, that’s an editorial “we.”

Yes, I, personally, have read all of those books.  And I found all of them absorbing, interesting, engaging and fun. They took me away from all the angst of the last year.

So why, indeed?   Why do we burrow deep down into books that take us away?  Books that grab us by the throat and take us far, far away from the every-day?

I don’t know exactly why that is but I, for one, will do whatever it takes.  And, again speaking for myself, a grisly murder, some familial deceit, a few missing bodies and an abduction or two seem to do the trick. But wait. If the NYT best seller list has credibility, it appears I’m not alone. There are others, I’m happy to learn, who also seek the occasional and, not so terribly shocking, reading escape.

So, should you wish to join me and the others on our little getaways, that list is as follows:

The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave

The Paper Palace by Miranda Heller

Not A Happy Family by Shari Lapena

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

The President’s Daughter by Bill Clinton and James Patterson

Enjoy!