Book Binge

Tags

America, Books, English, History, Learning, Library Services, Mystery, Reading, Science, Series, Summer Reading, Suspense, Thriller

Went on a book binge this summer. Maybe it should more accurately be called a series binge or reading binge. Either way, I read a book that was part of a series. I enjoyed it, a lot, and wanted to read all the books in the series. So I did. There were 12 books, not counting the one that came out just last year that I haven’t yet read. (Gonna read that one after I finish this month’s book club book.) I found it very difficult to read the variety of genres required by our summer reading BINGO program as a result of my binge, or obsessive reading. I did, however barely complete two BINGO cards.

The series I binge read was the Agent Pendergast series by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get all the books and read them in order, so I was all over the place. Yes. That is how bad I had it for this series. I couldn’t even wait until I could read them in order. So out of character for me.

Agent Pendergast comes from a prominent New Orleans family. He is fascinating, and enigmatic. Everything you need in a fictional love interest, which he is for me. I’m a bit in love with him. He is so smart, caring, but not sure how to show it. He tries desperately to make up for his mistakes and the sins of his family (which are numerous). He doesn’t look like a typical leading man with his fair complexion and slender physique. However, him and I are star-crossed. It would never actually work between us. We come from completely different worlds. Ahem. Anyway.

Many of the early books in this series are set in the New York Museum of Natural History. One of the authors actually worked there in real life and it is wonderful to read about. I love the description of the museum and all the science and history you can learn. Many of these books involve science, although they stretch the limits of reality a bit. I find it fun. It isn’t really sci-fi, but they take things that could be construed as supernatural, and end up giving them scientific explanations. I love it.

Many of the characters are recurring, which I also enjoy, and there are a lot of interesting and diverse personalities at play. You watch relationships and careers evolve over time, and slowly the personal history of Agent Pendergast and his incredible and somewhat psychotic family comes out. This takes many books though.

If you like murder mysteries and crime dramas you will enjoy this series. Especially if you like the ones where the good guys bend the rules once in a while to get the bad guys. Pendergast just isn’t really one to follow the rules if the rules don’t work. This is why I love him.

Hmmm, what exactly does that say about me I wonder…