The Bad Mother Book

I absolutely LOVE to read. It is one of my favourite things. I don't get to do it often, as with most things it takes a backseat to the Muddy Tribe and the Daily Grind. Every so often though I pick up a book and squeeze in a few pages here and there to work my way through it. It might be a couple of pages while Muddy Hubby has a shower before he comes to bed, or a few pages while I eat my lunch at the kitchen bench. I just fit it in when I can.

Even more rarely though a book will come along that I call a Bad Mother Book. These are the books that you just can't put down. You sit the kids in front of Play School for half an hour so you can have a good block of reading time, you snuggle up on the couch with it rather than talking to Muddy Hubby at night, or you sit outside next to the sandpit and read while the kids play. See - a Bad Mother Book, your kids (and Muddy Hubby) are neglected, or paid little attention as you plow through the captivating read.

I'm reading one of those Bad Mother Books at the moment. Michael Connelly's new book 'The Drop'. I have always loved Michael Connelly's books, from the first time I read 'The Poet' he had me drawn in. I think it takes skill to weave a story, let alone a story that will keep you guessing and turning those pages to get to the end as quickly as you can, and for me Michael Connelly does it every time. There are some other authors that I feel the same about but for me Michael is consistently good.

My litmus test is that I like to be able to pick up a book, read the first page and have that feeling that I want to read on. If I pick it up and that first page doesn't do it for me, it gets put back on the shelf. I'm not going to waste hours of my time on something I don't find interesting from the get go. So as my children are neglected (only slightly really) I am working my way through this Bad Mother Book and enjoying it, as it will probably be months before the next Bad Mother Book comes along.