Yippee!!! The local historical society's book sales started this past Saturday and we have one a month until October. I love these sales. I get to walk through two huge rooms full of books, scanning covers for titles and authors I've heard of, but never read.
I felt like a kid set free in a toy store as I strolled around the rooms full of old hardcovers and paperbacks. I scored 15 books for my $3.00 and I've been skim-reading from book to book trying to pick just one to settle in with. I think Jasper Fforde's "The Eyre Affair" is going to win the battle. It's part mystery, part sci-fi and the first chapter has already sucked me in.
Some of my classic finds are Ross Thomas' "The Fourth Durango", Dashiell Hammett's "The Dain Curse", Ross McDonald's "Black Money" and James Crumley's "Bordersnakes". I've read short stories by these gentlemen but never stumbled across any of their novels in my book hunting.
At last year's sale I discovered authors Laurie R. King and Minette Walters so I was happy to find books by both of these writers. And "The Black Dahlia" by James Ellroy! You can probably see why I can't make up my mind where to start.
And, of course, my beloved short stories are represented by three anthologies that I found.
First find was a hardback copy of "The Best of William Irish". Now, I'd heard this name over at Rara Avis but I wasn't familiar with the author, imagine my surprise when I did a google search and discovered that William Irish is the pen name of Cornell Woolrich! An author who's books I haven't been able to find.
Since I dabble in different genres when I write, I picked up a western anthology entitled "Luke Short's Best of the West" I've never heard of Luke Short but his short stories are amazing. And the last is a sci-fi anthology, "The Best of Jack Vance", another writer I've never heard of. Considering all the books I've read over the years, I seem to be a very ignorant reader. Do we ever catch up on all the authors we should read?
I haven't dipped into Vance's book except to read his preface and Barry N. Malzberg's introduction to the book. I was impressed by something that Vance said about his approach to the business of writing and I'd like to leave you with this quote, because for me, it makes perfect sense.
"In the first place, I am firmly convinced that the writer who publicizes himself distracts his readers from what should be his single concern: his work. For this reason, after a few early vacillations, I refuse to disseminate photographs, self-analysis, biographical data, critiques and confessions: not from innate reserve, but to focus attention where I think it belongs."
6 comments:
Jack Vance is a favorite of mine. Even though the bulk of his output was SF/F he wrote mysteries too under pseudonyms. Here's your tidbit for the day, Jack Vance won the Edgar in 1960 for The Man in the Cage which was written under the name John Holbrooke Vance.
He's still alive too, he's like 99 years old.
No, we never catch up. I am mortified every week with the writers mentioned on FFB that I have never read and never heard of.
A good lesson for we who read a lot--it's never enough.
So many of those earlier writers used pseudonyms to write in other genres. Now I have another name to add to my list, which grows longer every day with authors and titles. Thanks for the tip, Brian.
I know what you mean, Patti! I dropped off the DorothyL list because I never even heard of half the writers they were talking about. I suppose we become familiar mostly with what's made available in our area but with the internet our area has expanded to a point that I don't expect we'll ever catch up.
I really envy you the Cornell Woolrich find.
Just shear dumb luck that I picked it up, Corey. I was looking for anthologies and this looked like a good one so I grabbed it.
Sandra, I haven't read a Jack Vance book in years. The quote on the bottom of the post is perfect.
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