Today’s Post by Joe Farace
“Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life.” ―
In 1950, the American Book Publishers Council, American Booksellers Association, and Book Manufacturers Institute established the National Book Awards. Since then, the National Book Foundation was created and supports the event each year. #BookAwardsWeek recognizes authors across five categories who represent the best of American literature. None of the five winners for 2021 were photography books, so even though I didn’t publish a book last year the chances that I would win any kind of award would be zero. Heck I didn’t even read any of the five books that were selected for the National Book Awards because none of them were of interest.
Even though technology adds pressure to the print world and fewer adults read as much as they did 50 years ago, books continue to be relevant. One bright spot in the reading world is young readers. More young adults and teens are reading books than older generations. Despite the release of the first e-reader in 1997, young readers seem to prefer reading printed books over digital media. Interestingly, a Young People’s Literature category was added in 1996, recognizing the growing influence young readers have on literature.
My Current Books, some thoughts…
I recently finished reading Richard Osman’s The Bullet that Missed and while I enjoyed it the denouement revealing the culprit was surprising—maybe if I was paying attention I would have worked it out but I tend not to do that with mystery books—it’s what some fans, including me, might consider “cheating.” If you’ve read Moriarty by The Twist of a Knife but even my favorite authors miss the mark from time to time. (Writing is hard work.) The exception to this rule was the late Ed McBain (1926-2005) who wrote the 87’th Precinct series for fifty years, each book better than the previous one. Does that mean Osman gets put onto my library list? What’s that? If I don’t like two of my favorite writer’s books in a row, I put them on my “library list” and for the next one or two books they produce, I won’t waste money buying them, opting instead for getting them from the Library.
The book I’m currently re-reading is Man Who Would Be F. Scott Fitzgerald by David Handler, which is part of his Stewart Hoag and Lulu series. Since it’s a re-read, I don’t count it for my Books This Year project. When my reading stack doesn’t include books that Mary bought me or books I purchased for myself or anything from my library waiting list that currently includes nine books, I dig into my own library and find a book to re-read. I also look for some used books to buy. I just ordered a used copy of Penance: A Holland Taylor Mystery by my other favorite David, David Housewright. While I paid for a hardcover, sometimes Amazon’s third-party sellers send paperbacks instead. This has happened to me before so I always try to order used books from sellers with a 100% (or 99%, nobody’s perfect) rating.
Next book in line is Stealing God and Other Stories by Bruce McAllister, a collection of science fiction short stories. I don’t read much contemporary science fiction and am not really fond of the short story format, preferring that longer novel format. I haven’t read any short stories in a while but, as far as sci-fi is concerned, I did read Hail Mary by Andy Weir, author of The Martian. Hail Mary has a bit of a retro, Enemy Mine feel to it that I liked but like many sci-fi authors Weir had a tendency to over explain technical details that sometimes get in the way of the story. It’s a small quibble but is one of my hot buttons when it comes to sci-fi. Nevertheless, I liked the book and its message. Because I don’t want my preconceptions to get in the way of a good book, I;m looking forward to reading Stealing God and Other Stories, if only because one story the Amazon listing says is about, “A wise-cracking hitman is recruited by an angel of God to kill the oldest vampire on Earth.” That one has my name all over it.