I didn’t need any more reasons to like everything from the Veronica Mars universe.  First the television show grabbed me, then the movie and now the book series.

“Mr. Kiss and Tell” is the second one to follow the storyline after the movie, and just like “The Thousand Dollar Tan Line” has the great mix of major and minor characters from the TV series as well as a fresh cast involved in this story’s mystery.

Most importantly, it has a killer Simpsons reference that comes after Veronica remarks that her dad is being especially nostalgic.

“Keith put on a Grandpa Simpson voice and bent over.  ‘That reminds me of the time I went to Hampton, which is what they called Hampstead in those days, so I tied an onion to my belt, which was the style at the time.'”

I always liked Keith.   Veronica is pretty awesome too, and has her own reference to further endear her to my cultural world.  She is at Keith’s for dinner, along with boyfriend Logan and their new dog:

“The puppy capered over to Logan suddenly, setting one paw against his shin and gazing up at him.  Veronica fought the urge to coo.  Channel Philip Marlowe, she told herself sternly.”

There is a whole section of my bookshelf holding the tales of Philip Marlowe, and it’s probably no surprise that Veronica and her more modern version of the hard-boiled detective would appeal to me.  And now I’m imagining the two of them having a conversation and the physical contrast could not be more stark.  Marlowe would probably like the puppy though.

I tend to flag a bunch of extra things in books that don’t make anything close to a blog appearance, usually things like words or historical references I want to further explore.  There is a character in “Mr. Kiss and Tell” with the last name Malubay, and that last name is the only thing I highlighted on that page.

It took me a few minutes to remember why, and then the face of Ramiele Malubay, American Idol contestant from 2008, flashed into my brain.  Other than the first season, that was the only one I’ve really watched and for much of the time Ramiele was one of my favorites.  So since my note to self made me look this up, I can share that she recently finished nursing school and is still doing some singing.

That was a long and far diversion from the book, but if at this point I haven’t convinced you to consume everything involving Veronica Mars, there may not be any hope for you.  Go watch and read!