Stuck in a tower. Help me decide on a book.

[FatDog]

When the LA County Sheriff stepped out of his car and un-holstered his gun, I knew it was going to be one of those days.

I started this morning by handing my dog out of the window. Then I tied the end of a network cable to her collar. (I am aware of the irony - a dog being taken for a walk at the end of a CAT5 cable.)

Some back-story might be called for.

My daughter had gotten fed up with our inability to make decisions and found professional help for us in the form of an interior decorator. We are at the re-finishing the floor stage of our 12-step program (and we are feeling much better about ourselves). This means all the wood floors are a dont-walk zone right now. I have to leave by crossing a plank from the stairs to the carpeted dining room and stepping out a window. My heavy coat, the dog leash, the can-opener, etc. are all in rooms I cannot reach.

So it was a freezing cold morning in LA and I was wearing faded blue-jeans and a black hoodie with the hood up because my ears were freezing. The arctic wind must have rattled the door of the local Post Office Etc. store and when a member of LA's Finest pulled up to investigate the silent alarm - he found a disreputable character out front with a dog on the end of a wire.

I like to flatter myself into thinking I looked dangerous rather than destitute, but in truth the gun was probably in case of the dog. Shes a 65 lib Norwegian Elk Hound and looks somewhat mean. (She is in fact rather aggressive. There are some six-year-old girls in Princess costumes that will never trick-or-treat at our house again.)

After identifying myself as a local resident and producing ID, the gun was put away and I continued to Starbucks.

THE TOWER

Yes - I am stuck in my up-stairs with the dog. It's a comfortable tower. I have the old standard-def TV, this laptop from work, an XBox and my Kindle.

I left the dog down for a nap and ran for a sandwich. I stopped by Barns & Noble and jotted down the following potential titles to try and indulge in tonight:

A Dark Matter by Peter Straub
The Ark by Boyd Morrison
Directive 51 by John Barnes
A discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
Gideons Sword by Preston & Child
The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly
Serpents Storm by Amber Benson
The Omega Theory by Mark Alpert
Fatal Error J.A. Jance
A Heartbeat Away by Michael Palmer

Can anyone recommend one of these?

(Note: I did purchase a book for my wife. It just did not seem right to walk the brick-and-mortar store looking for purchases from Amazon without buying something.)

I plan to go out and get a favorite Chipolte Burrito and a single bottle of Firestone Merlin Stout - a dark ale I have grown fond of. (I have a six-pack in the fridge - unreachable - grrr). The clouds are coming back in and I suspect more rain will hit. I plan to whisper-net a new book and enjoy the ale with my dog at my side.