All the News That Fits

Shortly  my blog will enter its sixth year — a mere infancy compared to some other author blogs.  And Life Death and Fog, which should probably be renamed Life Death And Sand considering my recent move to the desert,  has had more than 100,000 page views, also a pittance compared to others.  One final note about the blog.  In the five years of its existence as mostly a crime fiction (and film) related site, I have made more than 600 posts, most of them rational.  Guest posts have also appeared and I would love more.

Georges Simenon

Other news:  The second novella (The Black Tortoise) in the Peter Stand series from Orca and its Rapid Reads imprint is scheduled for March of next year. Meanwhile the Kindle version of the first in the series The Blue Dragon is available for $4.99. And the last Shanahan, Killing Frost can be purchased for $2.51.I may buy it myself.

One of my every-morning stops is the blog, The Rapsheet.  The editor challenged readers and especially writers to come up with five crime writers who have at least five books each on their bookshelves, the mystery they would have most loved to have written and which classical mystery writers they’ve never read.  A great challenge. Below is my feeble attempt to comply.

James Purdy

In keeping with the challenge, I’ve read many books by the same author —  John Burdett, Michael Connelly, Terence Hallinan, James Lee Burke; but after a few major relocations, as well as accounting for loans to and from friends, I don’t have that many books by the same author. However I have made it a point to collect and preserve some. Most of the books from the following authors have at least some criminal aspect to them and, except for Mr. Garland, I have well more than five books each.

Alex Garland

Georges Simenon’s novellas  (non-Maigret)

Paul Bowles

Paul Bowles

James Purdy

Alex Garland (I would have at least five of his novels if he wrote that many.)

And I won’t embarrass myself by telling anyone how many classic authors I haven’t read. I’d be drummed out of the corps if I’d ever been drummed in.