Meet My New Friend, Jake

If the title of my blog and the little blurb about me didn't give it away, I will come right out and tell you that I love to read. I love to solve a murder mystery without fear of being hunted by the killer, I love reading about Tudor England without having to empty a chamber pot, and I love to read about characters who don't exist in our world such as romantic vampires or teenaged wizards. Reading takes me to places and to times which I will never have the opportunity to go and allows me to imagine doing things I could never really do.

 Sometimes I finish a book and I can't get to the library quickly enough. Maybe it's too late and the library is closed, or maybe I've got too many other things to do and I don't have time to go out. And although I'm ashamed to admit it, sometimes I have a bit of a fine and I've got to wait a few days before I can pay it. Does that ever happen to you? No? I'm the only one? Hmm...

When this happens, I get desperate and I look through the books that seem to come out of nowhere. Maybe they belong to my husband, who likes to read different books than I do. (His type of book is more likely to be turned in to a Hollywood film starring Bruce Willis or an over-confident Tom Cruise.) Perhaps it is a book that my father-in-law left behind when he visited last summer. It might be a book my mother lent me that I forgot about because of the stack of library books and text books I’ve got sitting on my side table. Often times, I pick up one of these books and begin to read, simply because I have a void to fill. Occasionally, the book surprises me and it becomes a favorite.

Monday I picked up a book that has the potential to become one of these surprises. I had been searching for a book to read, dismissing the many books on the shelves that I had already read. As much as I might love Anne Shirley and Magdalena Yoder, I needed to make a new friend. Finally, I picked up a book called SixYears, by Harlan Coben. The summary on the back cover tells about Jake Fisher, who still feels the loss of Natalie, the love of his life, who married another man six years ago. Upon reading of her husband’s death, he decides to go to the funeral and discovers that the widow isn’t Natalie at all. It then goes on to suggest that his search for the woman he loves puts his life in danger. I didn’t know if Jake and I would become friends, but he certainly sounded like someone I’d like to meet.


I’ve spent the last three days getting to know Jake. His intelligence is unquestionable; his position as a Political Science professor is evidence of this. His interactions with students suggest that he is understanding, self-aware, and analytical. His friendship and position as wingman to a fellow professor suggests that he has had the life of the average man. He confesses, however, that his relationships with women never last three months, and postulates that it is because his relationship with Natalie only lasted three months.

I relate to Jake. Like him, I am academic. I am self-aware, analyzing my thoughts and behaviors, not only recognizing my faults but also the motivations behind these thoughts and behaviors. I am also like Jake in that I am curious and want answers, I still feel unsure about the loss of my dad because I didn’t get closure, and I have felt the pain of betrayal and heartbreak.

As I write this, Jake has found more questions than answers. I don’t know yet how it ends, and frankly, that is going to be the deciding factor when I determine whether or not I like this book and whether or not Jake Fisher joins my inner circle.

I'll keep you posted.