Does anyone else do this?

My mom and I just got back from Boston, where we did not sightsee at all. We drove up there, loaded with my sister's priceless treasures and junk (no offense, Megan!) and helped her get unloaded, unpacked, and organized. We spent lots of time at Home Depot, IKEA and even more time putting furniture together sweating in her non-airconditioned attic apartment. I'll get to all that, including the adventure of getting there and before and after photos, in another post. I'm just too tired to download photos right now.

Because we drove up there (16+ hours!) I wanted to get a good book that would keep my interest. I'm reading Anna Karenina right now, but I didn't want to bring it because 1) it's in 19th century language and sometimes hard to follow and 2) it's super thick and we were flying back... had to pack light. So, therein lay my dilemna. Scott and I are shoppers of all the local Friends of the Library sales, and I had a bunch of books to choose from. I chose a recently purchased (for $3) autographed copy of "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" by John Berendt, because (hopefully) we will be traveling to Savannah for our upcoming anniversary. Other than the fact that it was set in Savannah, I had no idea what the book was about. This book is considered a non-fiction book, although parts of it have been fictionalized. It tells the tale of a murder committed by a prominent citizen of Savannah and the drama, gossip, rumors (and truth) that surrounded it and the subsequent trials. The book also weaves in many colorful and eccentric characters of Savannah and their stories. Warning: this book is not for the faint of heart- some of these characters are VERY colorful. :)

I become obsessed with books and stories like this... after I'm finished I do tons of research on the subject/characters, and in this case real people. Now I'm ready to go on a specialized tour about the book and movie when we are in Savannah (although I think I'm about a decade too late!)

Does anyone else do this?

I guess another reason why I found this book so interesting is because tourism skyrocketed in Savannah because of this book and movie. Hotel/motel tax funds soared, the Savannah Economic Development Authority presented the author an award and the mayor created a "John Berendt Day" in Savannah. Now, if only we could get these kinds of results in Jones County, GA (although without any murders!)