THE book

I'm an avid reader, which means when I fall in love with a book, I'm going to put the writer on my list and I'm going to buy them all, one after the other. I love it when I discover a new writer who has a big backlist, or who writes quickly, or, especially, one who has a backlist and writes quickly.

And sometimes this happens when I do fall in love with a book.

Several years ago, I picked up a Sharon Sala book - this one -

This is a book I read over and over again. If I'm having a bad day or a difficult weekend, if I'm not feeling well or I'm frantically busy - this is one of my go-to books. I LOVE this book. I love the characters, I love the story, I love the writing. And even though I've ready it at least ten times, I still love it.

So, as is my habit, I started buying and reading Sharon Sala's books. I think I bought another three and four and, yes, I enjoyed them. But I didn't love them, not the way I love Snowfall. So I stopped buying every book. I occasionally bought one and enjoyed it, but none of them moved me the way Snowfall did. Now, obviously, that's a personal preference and absolutely no reflection on Sala's writing - it just means that this book, these characters, this story, merged for me into something more than ordinary.

But I'm glad I've continued to pick up the occasional book because - voila! This weekend, after a frantically busy week at work and elsewhere, I picked up this book -

Don't Cry for Me worked on me the same way Snowfall did. I loved the characters, the story, the setting, the writing. And I devoured it. It's going on the shelf where I keep my go-to books - the ones I read over and over again.

The best part? I was delighted to find that this book is one of a series and tomorrow, when I go past the bookstore down the street, I'm going to buy the book I missed in the series and, when the next book in the series comes out, I'm going to buy that as well.

Lucky me. Happy me.

Kate