I've mentioned before how wonderful it is to be married to an interesting person. It happens that we don't read the same books, although she sometimes thinks I might benefit from some of hers. Actually, some of her life-style and diet books impact me. From time to time she tells me bits and pieces of her reading. In turn she is interested in my reading and often discusses it with me.

      Jean's mind has many windows open at the same time. It's an art honed in years of first grade teaching. I've watched her listen to five children reading five different stories, actually hearing what each is reading. In a similar fashion she typically has five books going at once. She uses a favorite for "dessert," rewarding herself for plowing on through a book she thinks might be "good" for her, but is not overly compelling.

      On with her list.

      First, Jean is an early morning riser and reader. My job is to stay out of the way (usually catching an extra doze while claiming to listen to the news. She has books that feed her soul in some way. These books are read and re-read and usually marked and noted. Her current morning books are "Simple Abundance", by Sara Breathnach and "Journey to the Heart," by Melody Beattie.

      Second, Jean is always reading some kind of informational book, often having to do with health, organization, self-improvement, or some other subject of interest at the moment. Her recent reads include:

"The Arthritis Cure," Jason Theodosakis;
"Strong Women Stay Young," Miriam Nelson (That book got her lifting weights), "Sandwich Cuisine Oregon Style" Jan Roberts Domingo;
"Kitchen Organization Tips and Secrets," Deniece Schofield;
"Interior Design with Feng Shei";
"The Last Gift of Time beyond Sixty," by Carolyn Heilbrun;
"How to Handle 1,000 Things At Once," Don Aslet;
"Garden Junk," by Mary R.Carter;
"Home Filing Made Easy," by Mary Martin;
"A Bend in the Road is not the End of the Road," by Joan Lunden;
"The Party," by Sally Quinn.

      Third—and most typical—Jean reads mysteries. She has a notebook full of authors whose names she checks out on the library computer for most recent publication dates. Among the nearly 100 mysteries from this past summer (remember, our summer begins in late May and lasts through the end of September) she offers a list of 18 favorite authors with some of their latest books.

 Carolyn Epstein, "Perilous Friends" and "Perilous Relations"
 Laurien Berenson, "Dog Eats Dog" and "Hair of the Dog"
 Sky K. Moody, "Rain Dance"
 Sara Frommer "Murder in C Major", "Buried in Quilts," & "Murder and Sullivan"
 Valerie Malmont, "Death Pays the Rose Rent," and "Death Lies and Apple Pies"
 Susan Albert, "Love Lies Bleeding"
 Nancy Atherton, "Aunt Dimity's Good Deed," Aunt Dimity's Death," and "Aunt
 Dimity Digs In"
 Jonnie Jacobs, "Murder Among Neighbors," "Murder Among Friends," and
 "Shadow of Doubt"
 Anne George, "Murder Gets a Life"
 Roy Lewis, "Trout in the Milk" and "A Gathering of Ghosts"
 Janet Laurence, "Death and the Epicure"
 Jo Dereska, "Out of Circulation"
 Joan Hess, "A Holly, Jolly Murder"
 Jill Churchill, "The Merchant of Menace"
 Nancy Goldstone, "Mommy and the Money"
 Phillip Craig, "A Shoot on Martha's Vineyard"
 Fred Hunter, "Ransom for a Holiday"
 Graham Landrum, "The Garden Club Mystery"