Slumped

I'm in a bit of a reading slump. I've started half a dozen things and nothing is compelling me to get back to it. In every room of the house I have a book. In the bedroom is Devil in the Details: Scenes from an Obsessive Girlhood. It's interesting, probably the one I most want to go back to. In the bathroom is Rachel's Holiday, also good- enjoyable, but when I'm away from it, eh. In my purse is A Fistful of Charms. It seems like I've been reading this for months. More about it later. By my computer is Over the Moon, an anthology of paranormal stories. I've barely started this one, but the format isn't appealling. I want something comfortable and easy, but I don't want to re-read anything either. I keep thinking I'll just start Book X and surely that will get me going. Then Book X isn't what I want either, so I do a little crocheting instead.




The one book I've read recently that I've truely enjoyed is Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney. The monkey got it in the mail yesterday and sat through the entire first reading without wiggling. Then he went back and looked for specific pictures "Baby crying?" Ok, so it's a llama, not a baby, cut him some slack! The rhyme is fun and the urgency of the story made both myself and my husband read faster and faster until the conclusion.


Now, about A Fistful of Charms. This is the fourth book in a series I really enjoy. I like the characters, I like the world, I like the details. However, in this one Rachel has left her home turf to rescue an old boyfriend. I didn't particularly like the boyfriend, but this is not the problem. I don't like it when a series takes me outside the familiar. I want it to be set in the same place. My least favorite Anita Blake installments took her to Tennessee (Blue Moon) and New Mexico (Obsidian Butterfly). (Actually, I only read one more after that one. I have the rest but have heard that the series takes a big detour about here and don't want to ruin my Anita experience.) I love the development of the characters, that's why I read a series. I want what I expect! Boring, probably, but true. What do you want in a series? Any suggestions on how to get over the slump?