I picked up two books this week. I opened one and found myself reading about an emotionally unstable woman. (We’re talking three sets of razor scars on her wrists.) She goes to a remote forested island. She takes a gun. The solitude creeps her out.

I opened the other book and found myself reading about a despairing man. He goes into the forest. He takes a gun. Something in all that solitude creeps him out.

What are the odds?

I think I’ll stay out of the woods for awhile.

Anyway, I disliked one of these books right away. But the other one’s got me turning pages eagerly. I’ll let you know which one next week.

All these creepy things in the forest make me want comfort food. Say, a batch of chocolate chip cookies. You can find my tried-and-true Betty-Crocker recipe here.

Lately Betty has updated her cookies — more butter, a higher concentration of chips.   I haven’t tried it, but with more chips, it has to be good, right?