Well, I guess it works sometimes, -t. I mean, I used to read Miss Marple a lot. I guess I think you can take it too far and end up with that endless "The Cat Who Couldn't Shoot Straight" series. I like cats and mysteries, but somehow I've not found them two great tastes that taste great together.Even Rita Mae Brown never really made that happen and I was such a fan in high school I got the "If there's anything you'd like to talk about," pause more than once. Now, I think my parents should get partial credit. Yeah, Kate, somehow I found that really embarrassing. It's hard to explain because obviously I'm the palest white devil to come down the pike, aside from those few drips of NA blood, and I've never really been to Africa so it's not like I can say "But it's not Authentic."

If Follow my Leader is about the kid blinded by fireworks I totally read (and re-read) that book when I was a kid. I remember thinking it would be worth being blind to have such a great dog. ...I don't think that way anymore.

My step-sister, who has a PhD in English, just said that The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is the first mystery she's ever read. How is that possible?

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is the first mystery she's ever read

No Christie?! No Conan Doyle?! No P.D. James, for goodness sake?!

The only mysteries I've read are the ones I picked up at my grandmother's house after running out of other books (since she uses the spare bedroom mainly to store books when she's done reading them). I doubt I could tell you any of their names.

Does Oedipus Rex count? I would think so.

No Christie?! No Conan Doyle?! No P.D. James, for goodness sake?!

Not even Nancy Drew.

That baffles me, Raq. I mean, a PhD in ENGLISH! Wow.

I love mysteries.

Huh, Nancy Drew might have been the first mysteries I read. And Hardy Boys. And Trixie Belden.

I skipped Trixie Belden because my mom had her Cherry Ames books.