To quote the famous poet...

It was Burns that said, "The best laid schemes o' mice an' men, Gang aft agley." Well, my best laid plans went awry last week when I went shopping at Costco and found a boxed set of the first 3 Percy Jackson and the Olympians books by Rick Riordan for only $10.99. That's less than $4 a book! I had no choice but to buy them. And then, of course, I had to read them. So all those lovely books I was planning on reading are still sitting in the "library books" section of my bookshelf, and 3 new paperback books each have a crease in their spine, but I feel so much better acquainted with Greek/Roman mythology. It was an enjoyable week. I am always slightly surprised when authors keep writing good, new books. Somewhere in the back of my brain is a little corner that believes all the good stuff is already written, that there cannot be anything really great being written because there are only so many ideas and combinations of words that can be strung together. Maybe it's the old fogey in me that wants to be sure the old days were the best days, or maybe it's the cynic in me that wants to believe that civilization is hurtling toward destruction and nothing good can be forthcoming. Whatever it is, I have a delicious sense of discovery every time I read a new series of books that I truly enjoy. And I enjoyed the Percy Jackson series, what I've read of it. (My name is on the library list for the last 2 installments in the series, but I'm sure they follow the entertaining pattern already set by Mr. Riordan.) Definitely recommend.