Yes, I have a great big To Be Read stack. It's full of books I 'should' read, books I look forward to reading and books I know I'll enjoy. It shrinks, it grows, it will never quite go away.
Then there's my treat shelf. There are a very, *very* few books that I set off to one side, precious gems of heart-stopping loveliness. There are a few old favorites and a few unread volumes by my absolute favorite authors.
Sometimes I look at that shelf, knowing I could dive in and lose myself in one great read after another. Sometimes, I look at it and fear that the authors will let me down this time. (Despite my love of Henry Miller's work, Black Spring is one of the worst books I've ever read) These aren't the drop-everything-else-the-day-it-comes-in books; these are books I save and savor. Same as I might save that bottle of Chateau Margaux for a special occasion, I wait until the time is right for each of these little gems.
The pressure is building for Lay Down My Sword and Shield by James Lee Burke, Henry Miller's Rooftops of Clichy and revisiting Double Indemnity by James M. Cain. But last night I dusted off another old friend: I'm sitting down with the complete Travis McGee series.
Pure. Bloody. Heaven.
How about you? What are your literary treats?
13 comments:
My literary treats are few & far between, I'm afraid. I fell away from fiction long ago & I don't know that non-fiction lends itself so well to author-enjoyment. It's more about the subjects for me (but don't get me wrong, there are certainly some non-fiction authors who don't know what the HELL they're talking about.)
I like one, particularly handsome fellow named "Charles Gramlich," however. Perhaps you've heard of him? Just stunning. And what a hottie! ;)
My literary treats are those books tucked into the lower two shelves of my bookcase, behind doors. Books that I have not gotten to yet, but they appear to offer some kind of enlightment once begun. Five in the list of to be reads are:
1. Kingdom of the Golden Dragon by Isabel Allende;
2. The Knight of Maison-Rouge by Alexandre Dumas;
3. The Affair of the Poisons: Murder, Infanticide and Satanism at the Court of Louis XIV by Anne Somerset;
4. The First Scientist: A Life of Roger Bacon by Brian Clegg; and
5. The Ambassadors' Secret by John North.
The last three are non-fiction but will prove worthwhile to read as I am likely to glean something to be used in a future manuscript.
After your comment on my post the other day, I went looking for Burke'sLay Down My Sword and Shield. Do you know how much those suckers are selling for? One wonders why the Powers That Be don't reprint it.
I blush to admit that I only read my first Travis McGee a few years ago, after I married my Steve. He's spent the last few years collecting them in hardcover. Sitting down to read them all would be a wonderful treat!
Travis McGee. YES! The Green Ripper and Darker than Amber were probably my faves. But they rank only slightly above the others. One of the all time most consistently good series ever.
I still have some unread JDM books. Not any McGee, but other JDM. I dole themselves out to myself only gradually. I've got some unread James Lee Burke for the same reason, and some unread David Gemmell. I reread some of Robert E. Howard's stuff periodically.
Lana, you just earned some brownie points there my dear. What a sweety you are.
I don't have a treat shelf. I read whatever calls to me at the moment. Sometimes it calls while I'm reading something else, so I end up with several novels on my "now reading" stack.
Lana, I do have a few non-fiction treats too: a couple of biographies, a few collections of my favorite painters and I can always spend a happy hour with H.W. Janson's History of Art!
Barbara, the poisoning, murder, infanticide and Satanism in Louis XIV's court is one of my favorite subjects! Creepy, gruesome and true.
Maybe it's just me, but I wouldn't be surprised if future biographies and memoirs paint a similar picture of the Cheney Vice-Presidency...
CS, I might be able to find you a copy here. British or Australasian, I do believe it's still in print in my neck of the woods.
Charles, I still have three unread JDM's, the McGee's are a return engagement. My favorite's probably The Long Lavender Look, or maybe The Girl in the Plain Brown Wrapper.
Shauna, I have the 'now reading' stack as well. Also the 'I'll probably read this next, but maybe I won't' stack. If I were a junkie (and my reading is a lot like addiction), I'd be the kind with 43 different opium pipes or something...
That's a tricky question in a sort. I have a few 'guilty pleasure books" i'd call them. My treat books tend to range widely though. One of them being The Sword of Truth series. ok, so it's not amazing writing, it's not particularly ingenious but I like it and it's fun to read. I also keep Lolita stored on that part of the shelf because it's a book I could read a hundred times. Emergence is another one. Awesome book. My copy of the Tao Te Chang, Dennis L. McKiernan's series and fables, my History of Art, The Lost Painting and With The Old Breed and Duty (the last three are non fiction) along with a few random books on dyeing fabrics, Knit1 magazine and a few other random things that I've found that I get the urge to indulge in every so often. One of my favorite things to do is to sit down and pick up my favorite book from a series and read it, just because, if I've already read the series a million times. I have others but that's the general idea. (c:
I finally found a reasonable used copy of the Burke to order. Thanks!
Riss, I think of it as visiting with old friends. It's easy to chase new books all over the landscape, but sometimes it's just plain fun to sit down with an old favorite. That's what I'm doing now with the JDM's.
CS, glad to hear! Wonder why anyone'd let one of his books go out of print...
My tastes seem to be changing quite a bit. Books I loved when I was younger don't appeal so much anymore. I did pick up a Scott Lynch book, "The Lies of Locke Lamora," and loved it. I think that will be re-read many times.
Oh, yes, I have a large 'I'll probably read this next, but maybe I won't' stack too.
If I weren't a writer, I'd still hang out with them. My quirks become normal in this crowd.
I call such books my comfort reads. My favorites are PRIDE AND PREJUDICE and PERSUASION by Jane Austen, the works of Georgette Heyer, OUTLANDER by Diana Gabaldon, FLOWERS FROM THE STORM by Laura Kinsale, and LORD OF SCOUNDRELS by Loretta Chase. I also am fond of the Harry Bosch series by Michael Connelly, and the Elvis Cole-Joe Pike books by Robert Crais.
Kipling, Oppenheim, Haggard, Stout,Montgomery,Gann, Lincoln, Dell Shannon, and so on.
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