Apropos books....

I ordered one a few days ago and will probably have it in time for my next train journey.....

Some of you will sort of be surprised by that statement. For over forty years, I was never seen without a book in my hand. My 'places to escape to'.

And books are like that for me. Always were. Sometimes you didn't escape to some place nice, which made you feel your life was tolerable and preferable to what you were reading about... Sometimes you escaped to something so wonderful, you would wish to be there forever, and those books would give you something to strive for.

Books are something that form you, delight you, make you laugh, or cry, they are powerful.

And inform.

And right now.... I have been taking my own books on the train to read. Because I do not want to think about grim stuff, you know? So when I go by railway, I need something to take me away into a fun place, and keep my mind off what I am going to see. So books can be a shield as well.

That is why I was taking the 'Tales of the City' by Armistead Maupin with me these past weeks, and re-visiting all of his amazing cast of characters. I recently learned that he wrote another, dealing with them, but I do not want to read it right now. I don't think I can take reading about Mouse dealing with HIV and Anna Madrigal in a coma. I will read it.... definitely, but this isn't the time for that.

So I turned to Joe Keenan. He's like Noel Coward and Wodehouse, only not in the closet. He has only written three novels in this series to date.... because he does screenplays for Law and Order, seemingly.

And didn't have time, or something...

I have the first two... 'Blue Heaven' and 'Putting on the Ritz'. He can set up situations that are so hilarious, it gets infectuous. Every other paragraph has zinger where you think, 'oh, gawwd, why didn't I ever think of that?' And it all fits. Delightful reading, in other words....

The sort of thing I need when facing awful things, in other words.

Both books have the same cast of characters. Phillip, the narrator, who writes lyrics, and Claire, who is grounded and does the music for shows, and the dastard Gilbert.... who is probably the most chaotic idjit who got onto paper and in books.

Phillip always gets into Gilbert's hare-brained schemes, and Claire always has to get them out of their dilemmas. 'Blue Heaven' begins with Gilbert wanting to marry a New York girl for her connections, and they both scheme, because they want the wedding gifts in order to hawk them. Except... the girl's family are in the Mafia, and it turns into the worst nightmare anyone could imagine, but it is extremely funny.

'Putting on the Ritz' is to die for. A VERY thinly disguised Donald Trump, and his wife wants to sing in the Rainbow Room in New York. It is the best train wreck I ever read about. Keenan really sends up what New Yawk is all about.... it is devastating, and I laughed tears.

Those two were quite a while ago, so I checked Amazon, and whaddaya know.... After ten or so years, he's baaaaccck! Same cast, and they destroy Hollywood. I can't wait to see what they are gonna do there.

The book is called 'Star'.

S0 I can fasten my seat-belt on the train, metaphorically speaking.

Books have always been my escape if my world was threatening, I guess.

I wish and hope that you never read for that reason.

But sometimes, it can be a life-saver.