And That's Not All . . .

Perhaps because as an adult I read so much “serious” literature  (history, biography, educational, technical), I occasionally had to “cleanse” my mind by reading what I called, no-think books. By that I meant books where I could just kick back and enjoy the story. After all, you can only read so many labor arbitration cases or books on theology and your brain begins to fog!

There was even a set time of year for me to formally dig into some no-think stuff in addition to the “as required” times. Each spring I would reach back into my childhood/young adulthood and re-read an author or subject for the sheer joy of it.

One spring it might be Tolkien, the next Burroughs, the next Kipling, or Asimov, or Fleming, or Hemingway, or Bellow, or—well—you get the idea. These books were my friends. I could kick back (usually on the couch) and read ‘till my eyes burned and everything went black. When I was through this period—it usually lasted for a week or ten days—I was ready to be a grown-up again; at least for a while.

In my “as required” or unscheduled times throughout the year I would look for new authors or characters or genres. One year I read about 30 Zane Grey novels. In another it was Robert Ludlum —the real Ludlum written books—not the fakes that are written by other authors as sequels or “additions” to Ludlum’s originals. (There are nearly as many pseudo-Ludlum titles as there are originals—but the copycats are, in my humble opinion far inferior. (You can check out Wikipedia for lists of each.)

These thru-the-year timeouts are how I discovered the incredible Douglas Adams’ five-volume (!) trilogy The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. For me they were truly laugh-out-loud funny, and, much to my amazement, my mom loved them, too!

           The cover of Adam's opening book in his "trilogy" and a photo of Adams himself.

Nowadays there are two contemporary authors I enjoy immensely who publish on a regular basis: John Sandford and Michael Connelly. Sandford’s next comes out in April. I have already pre-ordered it. If you enjoy detective novels I highly recommend them. (Don’t forget the old guys though, like Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett) Great stuff!

I’d like to mention two other authors who couldn’t be more different, and who, in my opinion are not read nearly enough. They are Kurt Vonnegut and Wendell Berry. Vonnegut (now deceased) was as irreverent and unpredictable in our time as Twain was in his era. Expect some shock and confusion when you read him, and for some he is an acquired taste, but I think he is magnificent. 

 The one and only Kurt Vonnegut

 The Library of America (LOA.org)  has published a collection of his work.  

Wendell Berry is not only a fabulous novelist—his Port William Membership series is unsurpassed—but a Henry Thoreau style ecologist/essayist for our day. I am tempted to say that his book The Memory of Old Jack would have to be in my top five ever. In fact, Berry may well be the best American writer you have never heard about.

I’ve only touched the surface of great reads in this post, but I hope that in here you may discover a writer or two that become one of your personal favorites.

In the next post—and I can hear my good friend Jim Meyer groaning already—I’m going to write about another genre we have yet to look at: poetry. I think I can promise at least one good story to share as well as a lot of great poetry. In the meantime, keep working on your lists. The time to share is rapidly approaching!