The cure for insomnia!

Eureka! I have discovered the cure for insomnia - just read Caleb Carr's The Italian Secretary - A Further Adventure of Sherlock Holmes. I love to read, and I will admit that I have read some stinkers over the years, but this is the first book I can ever remember not finishing. It's not that it's poorly written - on the contrary, it does Sir Arthur Conan Doyle proud with its flowery Victorian prose. It's just boring! I've tried for the past month off and on to finish it - and it knocks me out every time. Last night I vowed that I would either finish the damn thing or pass it along to a reader with more determination than I. This morning I tossed the book into the bag with the other weekend fare and promised myself to bypass any future such offerings from Mr. Carr. I just don't get it - I loved Angel of Darkness and The Alienist - both grand examples of historical thrillers, if you will. And I love Sherlock Holmes - my husband calls them "dull old mysteries" - so I figured that the combination of a great author and a wonderfully readable character would be perfect! Wrong - but then maybe it's just me. I've been reading a lot lately - catching up on all of the books that were piled up at home - and I'm rather quickly making my way through two jam-packed drawers of books: David Baldacci suspense, John Grisham legal thrillers, a few non-murder "cozies," a Dean Koontz from my friend Dorene, and a few others. This past weekend, I read Digital Fortress by Dan Brown, which was not nearly as good as Angels and Demons. I was not much on The DaVinci Code either. I also finally read Ya-Yas in Bloom - Rebecca Wells' follow-up to Divine Secrets of the YaYa Sisterhood and Little Altars Everywhere. It was funny and a tear-jerker - but as enjoyable as the first two books. I will have to say that I like the books better than the movie - but then, Hollywood and I do not always agree on casting. I mean, Tom Cruise in Interview with the Vampire is eternal proof of movie casting gone horribly wrong. Ah, movie reviews - a post for another day...