What are you reading?

 

Fall and the onset of cooler temps usually brings out the desire to curl up with a good book. I recently took stock of my bookshelves and discovered more unread volumes than I realized I had. This wasn’t totally from impulse buying on my part, although that’s been a problem in the past. My late parents were avid readers and I fell heir to an extensive collection. I’m well stocked with everything from Erle Stanley Gardner to Robert B. Parker, along with classics by Hemingway, Steinbeck and Twain. There are a few Ian Flemings and Mickey Spillanes in there, too. Who needs the public library when I have all of these within arm’s reach? This was a good excuse for me to start reading again.

 

One of the volumes I chose is an omnibus containing classic thrillers and crime stories. I’m starting with “The Moving Target” by Ross McDonald. This award-winner from 1948 introduced his private eye character Lew Archer, who was the protagonist in a long-running series. The book was made into the Paul Newman film “Harper.” I wanted to see how many differences there were between the book and screen versions, besides changing the main character’s name for some unknown reason. So far, I haven’t been disappointed.

 

I don’t usually get into true crime books, but I made an exception when I bought “Death as a Living,” a first effort by Doyle Burke. Burke is a retired homicide detective with the Dayton (Ohio) Police Department who dished the dirt on some of his cases. He launched his book at a local indie store that also hosts me on occasion, so I dropped in to meet him and get a signed copy. In reading some of his reminiscences, I got an eerie feeling of nostalgia when I thought “Hey, I remember that murder!” I think I’ve been writing crime thrillers for too long.      

 

I’m nearly done reading a neat cozy-type mystery called “Nine Tenths of the Law,” by my friend Claudia Hagadus Long. My connection with Claudia is that she’s my long-time editor and favorite collaborator. Her story is an intriguing tale of a family’s discovery of a religious artifact that was thought to have been lost or stolen during the Holocaust, and their efforts to get it back.    

 

I’m continuing my quest to catch up with books by Nelson DeMille. I enjoy his style of storytelling, and next on my list is his thriller “The Gate House.” DeMille’s work poses an interesting dilemma, because when there’s been a movie adaptation, his books haven’t been translated well. I remember the film “The General’s Daughter”--loved the book, didn’t like the movie. Part of it may have been because John Travolta was miscast as an Army investigator from the deep south, with a drawl that was more Bronx than Bayou.

      

Carl Hiaasen is another fave, and I discovered some of his books that I hadn’t read. I’m changing that, starting with “Nature Girl.” Hiaasen is kind of an acquired taste, because you can’t always tell if he’s trying to be serious or flip. One of his contemporaries in the Florida lighthearted crime fiction scene, the late Tim Dorsey, makes it clear that he’s pulling your leg. I’m currently reading his book “Hurricane Punch.” I once had the pleasure of sharing the stage with Dorsey at an author gathering in Key Largo, and he was just as funny in person as he is in print. 

   

Robert B. Parker and his Spenser private eye mysteries are what I call comfort reading, and I have a number of those to choose from. The one I’m currently reading is “Cold Service.” I recently read his completion of Raymond Chandler’s unfinished final novel, “Poodle Springs,” featuring Phillip Marlowe. Chandler’s estate chose Parker to complete it in Chandler’s style, then allowed him to write another Marlowe mystery, “Perchance to Dream.” That was a good read, too.  

    

An old paperback I found at a yard sale has already provided some surprising literary insights. “The Godfather Papers and Other Confessions” by Mario Puzo is a collection of essays and stories he wrote for magazines in the ‘60s. Puzo devoted one chapter in this collection to his most popular novel and the epic film adaptation. I was surprised to learn that despite “The Godfather” being his most successful book, it wasn’t his favorite, and he didn’t understand what all the fuss was about. He revealed that he only wrote it because his previous books, while critically acclaimed, hadn’t been commercially successful, and he was deeply in debt. His agent suggested that since Mafia stories sold well, perhaps he should write one of those.

 

I think the books currently occupying my reading table will keep me busy for the next few months. If not, I can check out something else from my home library.        

 

What’s in your TBR pile?

 

Tim Smith is an award-winning bestselling author of romantic mystery/thrillers and contemporary romance. His author page is Tim Smith-AllAuthor