Monday, June 16, 2008

Do you reread your favorite books?

My wife really busts my chops about all the books I have laying around the house and the store. Now I don't read fancy fiction that is approved by the intellectuals. Or non fiction that everyone is talking about. I love pure genre fiction. Sci-fi. Mystery. Alternative history. Historical novels. The occasional true crime or history of the mob. And I really like series. You know when one of your favorite authors writes a continuing series with a storyline that goes over several books. I have resolutely low brow tastes. Eric Flint. Harry Turtledove. Robert E. Parker. Lawrence Block. SM Stirling. James Ellory. George MM Martin. David Weber. David Drake. Jim Butcher. WEB Griffin. William Forstchen. Alexander Kent. Elmer Kelton. Dennis Lehane. George Peleconis.Or the classic genre guys from the past. John D. MacDonald. Edgar Rice Borroughs. Talbot Mundy. CSS Forrestor. Tolkien. Louis Lamour. Zane Grey. Great authors all. Well great to me. They all write very entertaining books. Nothing earth shattering. The tight asshole disapproving "intellectuals" scoff at these guys. But they are a lot of fun. That's what reading is to me. Fun. The problem with following these series is that you are just waiting for a new one to come out. Now that there is on-line publishing you can go to the website and get an advance peek at some chapters and you just want more. So I just keep rereading the old books. If I leave it off for a year or so, when I pick it up it's like visiting an old friend. And the best part about it is that this type of old friend won't ask to borrow money.

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