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Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Plum Fun


Some of my blogging buds, Virginia, Darcie, and Melissa (hi, girls!) goaded me into starting on Janet Evanovich’s series of eighteen books about a New Jersey bounty hunter, Stephanie Plum.

I’m hooked. Perhaps even addicted, with no desire to enter recovery.

Evanovich started the books back in the 90s, so she pre-dated many of the bounty hunter series on TV. Being a bounty hunter gives Stephanie many opportunities for danger, excitement, and “don’t taze me, Bro” Jersey-style fun.

To me, the series is about Stephanie, the woman, more than anything else. The plots are secondary and are just to keep my pal Stephanie busy between buying her latest used car (she tends to destroy one or more motor vehicles per book), going shoe shopping, changing her hairstyle, or deciding which of the two men in her life she’s lusting for this week.

In Seven Up, she once again leaves her gun stashed in her cookie jar at home, when she should have taken it to work. Stephanie regularly finds herself covered in goo, picking week-old spaghetti out of her hair after chasing a Failure to Appear/bond jumper through back alleys and dumpsters. Kudos to Evanovich for including inconsequential, goofy details like this to make Stephanie a girl I’d like to sit down and have a pizza with. After she showers and changes, of course.

Steph is one mixed up chick. She’s an adrenaline junkie; she regularly mooches dinner off her parents. She talks to her pet hamster, Rex. She likes the old people who live in her apartment building and knows their names. She loves New Jersey:  smog, hairspray, belligerent drivers and all.

She can’t figure out whether she should give it all up, and marry her childhood love, Joe Morelli. Should she get married, settle down, and have kids? Nah, not this week.

More Tastycakes than high literature, if you pick up a Plum escapade don’t expect to find Stephanie or her friends  pondering the meaning of life. Not going to happen. Purely escape fiction, a great beach read-- the series may be like candy, or better yet like the greasy Pino’s pizza Steph favors, but I for one need a few carbs to get me through life’s rough patches.

And life is like a slice of pizza, no?

Crunchy on the bottom, a little burnt, messy, spicy, but ultimately filling. And sometimes gives us bloat.


15 comments:

  1. I've never read Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum books. I think I'll go download a couple to my Kindle!

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  2. Great blog! Congrat’s on being among the top 11 blogs selected by Healthline.

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  3. Hi Judy-- the Plum series is a fun escape. At times it's like a comic book, but occasionally that's just what I need! Thanks for reading!

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  4. Hi Debra Ann,
    I'm still in shock over the Healthline award for menopause blog! Thanks for stopping by!

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  5. Thank you for stopping by and your comments.

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  6. I've read them all! I'm a huge fan AND...I feel as if I'm her personal friend. I just want one whiff of Ranger and maybe a quick cop-a-feel of Morelli's arse...just one. Sigh...

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  7. Ha-ha just be sure Steph or Grandma Mazur are not standing by with the stun gun or the 45 long barrel when you accidentally brush up on Joe. I'll create a diversion...

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  8. Love these books! Already we have so much in common! Congratulations! Looking forward to getting to know you and your blog!

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  9. Hello Querida Amiga! So, first-things-first: what is this about a Healthline award? Please tell, TELL! This is the first I hear about it. Second, CONGRATULATIONS!!

    Now back to the blog; I am so glad to see you are hooked on Evanovich, reading her Stephanie Plum books are like eating candy! I am a slow reader, plus, I go back-and-forth between four books I keep on my night-table. I can't read just one. lol!

    AWESOME and FUN post.

    Love you muchly, my dear friend!
    XOXOX
    ~Virginia

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  10. I just found out about Healthline.com a few hours ago, and I can't believe it on so many levels. I'll have to email you or write a post about it-- it was totally out of the blue. I never would have dared to write about menopause if it had not been for reading your brave posts. Your posts were truly a light in the darkness for me. So glad we found each other, sweet Virginia.
    And I also have multiple books going at once-- perhaps due to the multiple personalities of menopause?! Books are stacked up around here like the Great Wall of China. Thanks for turning me on to Stephanie Plum!
    xxoo

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  11. Hi Rachel! I sure didn't see the Healthline.com award coming... astonished. As you can see, I have a tiny, low tech blog.
    But surely now, world domination is not far behind.;)
    Looking forward to reading your blog!

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  12. Woohoo!!! Congrats on the award!

    I keep hearing about this series from the BlogHer gals, and now you, and you all seem to be ardent devotees. I guess I'll have to cave and read it too...

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  13. I don't read a lot of escape stuff, though I've been thinking lately I might be better off if I did. You make this sound pretty appealing and I am a big fan of those little details that bring characters to life. May have to check it out.

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  14. One of our Menopause Goddesses just turned me on to Stephanie Plum, so I've read my first (the first book - gotta do 'em in order). Love love love her - I can't wait to see what her take no prisoners approach as she nears Menopause.

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