I've fallen in love with a new character. Someone beautiful and young with a strong determination to conquer the misfortunes of life, you ask? Well, no. It's Grandpa Smedry from Brandon Sanderson's Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians. Sanderson's hero is Alcatraz, a not entirely likeable boy who comes from a family with unusual "talents". Alcatraz has the ability to break nearly anything (even a chicken). One of Al's cousins possesses the ability to trip and fall down, but my favorite is Grandpa Smedry who has the power (yes, the POWER) to be late. At first, this may seem not much like a power and more like a character flaw, but in fact, it is quite handy. For example, when an enemy attempts to shoot Grandpa with a gun, the target cannot be hit because Grandpa is late for the shot. Sanderson has taken a very popular genre (young adult fantasy) and put great twists into the story. To be honest, I suspect that Sanderson is a philosophy graduate student, who has chosen to write a young adult series rather than finish his dissertation (I'm completely making this up, so if you repeat this, you are in fact just gossiping). The book was recommended to me, oddly enough, by my librarian friend Becky, who has a great sense of humor. I'm about halfway through the book and loving it. The power to be late hits so close to my heart. Just think of all the misfortune I have probably avoided with my lateness!