Special Topics in Calamity Physics. Now that's a well-done book. Sure the characters are disruptively unbelievable and the plot doesn't really start until page 300 and the ending makes no sense at all, but those are virtues; they help the book hit my sweet spot: Entertaining, but not grabbing.
I hate being grabbed by a book. It's troublesome. You lose sleep, sneak looks during the workday, don't want to get off the bus, and generally act out all the downsides of infatuation. Jonathan Rosen's Joy Comes in the Morning, for instance, is currently making a run at ruining my life. Wonderful book, to be sure, but a pain in the ass for that very reason. It's keeping me up at night, and, come the day, beckoning from my bag when I actually need to be writing.
With Special Topics in Calamity Physics, I could merrily read for 20 minutes before going to bed without any particular interest in knowing what happened next. It was The Entourage of books: Great dialogue, charming moments, fun characters, but no nettlesome investment in the characters or interest in the plot to muck up the experience. I need more like it.
