I love those Borders' 3 for 2 deals. Maybe it's just the George Costanza in me but I just love getting something for "nothing". I know I could buy the individual books at another bookshop for less but somehow those "3 for 2" labels dazzle me and I'm transfixed, like a rabbit in the headlights of the oncoming credit card bill.

Last visit I came away with the latest in the "No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency" series (which I love), a book about some Pommie bloke living in Paris for a year (am I the only human being left on the face of the planet who hasn't lived in Paris for a year and written a book about it?) and the latest Stephanie Plum (Janet Evanovich) novel. Now my friend Jan loves Stephanie Plum and while she is undoubtedly a spunky character the novels could have been written by a three year old with a nasty foul language problem.

This book, "Ten Big Ones" is the literary equivalent of eating fairy floss. A brief moment of enjoyable sweetness with no nutrional value and no aftertaste. Each night when I'm finished reading I wouldn't be able to tell you what I had just read, even if I had a gun pointed at my head. It literally goes in one ear and out the other.

It's not that I don't like genre. Stephanie Plum is a "bounty hunter" from Jersey and her novels fit into the mystery/black comedy mould - however, they are not very funny or very mysterious. For my money Kinky Friedman is by far the master of this genre. If you haven't heard of him he is definitely what you might call a "character". He has a country and western band called Kinky Friedman and the Texas Jewboys whose songs include "They don't make Jews like Jesus any more" and "Get your biscuits in the oven and your buns in bed". He's even running for governor of Texas 2006. His books are super cool and very funny, he plays with language in the sort of way that really makes me laugh. He's not exactly a poster boy for PC.

If you're talking straight detective fiction I can't go past Ian Rankin's Detective John Rebus. The books are set in Edinburgh, Scotland and they started off very dark, have moved onto quite dark and are now relatively "light" but they are still bloody good. Strong prose, beautiful descriptions of Scotland and a great character in John Rebus. I went to see Ian Rankin talk at a literary dinner thingy last year and really enjoyed it, except for the fact that he looks alarmingly like my ex-husband Colin (who was also Scottish, perhaps they are distantly related?).

I'm also a fan of Sue Grafton's Kinsey Millhone. Her books are also known as the Alphabet mysteries because they have been named "A is for Alibi", "B is for Burglar", etc. These books are only marginally higher on the literary high-brow scale in comparison to the Stephanie Plum books but they are much more enjoyable. Kinsey is a great character and whenever a new book comes out I feel like I'm catching up with an old friend. They are also well researched and quirky. I can't wait to visit with Kinsey again soon. "S is for ...?"

Now don't get me started on gay American authors. What can I say, I'm a fan! It started with Edmund White quite a number of years ago and has recently progressed to David Sedaris and Augusten Burroughs. Edmund White's autobiographical early novels are not for the feint hearted. For a white bread hetrosexual female like myself it was a case of everything you ever wanted to know (and more) about the nitty gritty of male homosexuality. Beautiful, moving books but whoa, baby, too much information. I bought and made an earnest start on his biography of Jean Genet but I'm afraid it will take a bigger man than me to get through that doorstopper. It's huge, it's dense and it's bloody hard going. Only for the hard core Edmund White/Jean Genet fans.

If you haven't read David Sedaris or Augusten Burroughs - you must. Sedaris writes beautiful, dry, hilarious vignettes; stories about his family and his life. It is hard to describe his style but he manages to capture those everyday life moments in such a deadpan way and then hits you with a whammy at the end of each story. The two books I have are "Me Talk Pretty One Day" and "Dress Your Family In Corduroy and Denim". Both highly recommended.

Augusten Burroughs is a different kettle of fish. His childhood will immediately make everyone feel better about their own. After all how many people were given away as children by their crazy mother to her even crazier psychiatrist (who, just as an example, would tell the future by fishing out his poos out of the toilet and drying them on the outdoor setting). This period of his life is described in "Running with Scissors" (soon to be a major motion picture!). His later life as a successful advertising copywriter and a complete alcoholic is beautifully described in "Dry". His other autobiographical book "Magical Thinking", as well as his novel "Sellavision" are on my book wish list (are you reading this Jay?). JB and I went to hear him talk a few months ago and I really fell in love with the man (in a purely platonic, hetro woman/gay guy way, of course!). I would SO love for him to be my gay boyfriend. To dream the impossible dream!