"One Second After"

Brent and I do a lot of couple-y things, but recently he suggested that we read a book together since that's something we both thoroughly enjoy (and one of the rare times we actually stop talking). I thought it was a nice idea and finished whatever it was I was doing.

It wasn't until my wonderful friend Charlotte suggested the book One Second After by William R. Forstchen that I decided to take Brent up on the idea. I'm not sure what got Charlotte and I started about this book, but the more we talked I couldn't help but want to read it, and I knew it was something that Brent would enjoy as well. We don't typically read the same sort of material so it was going to be a challenge.

During my lunch break I headed to my favorite Half Price Books off of Northwest Highway in Dallas and after hobbling around the Sci-Fi and Fiction sections with no luck, went to the information desk for help. Help = None. The guy basically told me that I had looked where he would and shooed me away. Never one to give up easily, I headed back for one more try and sure enough found the very last hardcover copy, in the Mystery section, for only $7.48 - a steal in my opinion. With that and a couple of other little things I picked up while browsing, I headed to the checkout, pleased with my find.

When I approached Brent with the book, I don't think he was as excited as I was at first. Actually he was more curious about the other book I had purchased for myself and why I had bought it, and not at all interested in the book for us. But, with a little prodding and all the reasons why, he gave in.

One Second After is about, according to the blurb inside the cover, what would happen to us in the instance that an EMP (Electromagnetic Pulse) were detonated. These things are real, and are being built to replace nuclear weapons. The gentleman who wrote the book is a Ph.D. from Purdue with specializations in military history and is very knowledgeable in his field. I think this book will be good for us, because the author sets the story in his hometown, and it says he focused on his family and his daughter when writing it. I'm sure it'll scare the dickens out of me, and Brent will just love the action.

So far we've only read the foreword, which was written by Newt Gingrich, and Chapter One, but the stage has been set. Last night I read, and tonight is Brent's turn. Hopefully we can actually do this on a nightly basis, and not make excuses for being too tired the way we do with movies, and really finish this project. I'm anxious to see how the book ends, and see how long it takes us.

I'll let you know.

Love, KC