Saturday, July 14, 2018
Binge reading
Since last fall I've been trying to cut down on the sheer number of books in this house; many of them were the 'why not' of yard sales, or library sales, many were experimental in nature or just a poor fit. And some were old friends, read a few times and remembered fondly.
The only way to find out was to just sit down and read 'em.
It appears I have outgrown some of my oldest books, and while the memory is good, the reading--now--isn't. Out. Some I've returned to (Calvin Trillin is one ) and realize what a charmer he was.
Binge reading authors, book by book, can be a valuable exercise, as it shows progress from first book to last both in the characters and the authors. Some authors--like Pratchett and Sue Grafton--show an interesting development, stronger story lines, more interesting back stories. Some just dwindle. Ray Bradbury and Robert Parker are dwindlers, for very different reasons. Patricia Cornwell burgeons, becoming gorier and angrier with each book.
I try to save a bit of money when filling in a series writer by haunting places that sell used books; a good way to tell the enduring popularity of an author is by how many of their books are on the shelves. Sue Grafton is hard to find, as is Terry Pratchett and Robert Parker, The DaVinci Code and Patricia Cornwell are apparently one-time reads and then given away. I'm leery of any author who practically owns an entire shelf with his or her work, usually huge, 700 page monstrosities.
In the throes (I just finished "X") of the Sue Grafton series, I've been reading them in order, steadily. In doing this, I've seen how her writing has changed, how her style has morphed into something more complex and richer, and noticed that her character's progress is only about a five or six year stretch, with tags to previous books that really don't get in the way of the story line. But what did disturb me is how little I actually recall about any of them. To be fair, some of these books go back to the late 80s and haven't been read since. But even the most recent leave me with blank spots. Did I even READ this?
I've also discovered along the way, that authors who resort to cute names for their characters, or cute antagonists (i.e. Tommy Tippler or Aggie Eggers) or even cuter animals who write the stories, are not really my thing at all. It seems as if too much time is expended on an attempt at humor in the middle of what wants to be a solid serious-but-fun read.
On to P.D. James. =)
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Books do tend to accumulate. And they add fearful amount of weight when moving. It's hard to get rid of them, though.
ReplyDeleteCurious whether you'd care to elaborate on why you consider Ray Bradbury a "dwindler".
I love Ray Bradbury, don't misunderstand me. The first story I read of his (knowingly, at any rate) was 'The Lighthouse" from a collection of his I had just bought. I was so taken with it I must have read it a dozen times. I was about 18.
ReplyDeleteI read everything, after that, that I could find of his. However, during the last dozen or so years of his life his production sloughed off, and his publishers began bringing out "collections" of his work with the blurb on the back, "Bradbury's back and better than ever!!"
Sadly, most of the stories were reworked older ones, especially the one about Ceci. Over time she became the focus of much of his "return to writing' phases with her single adventure rewritten. It struck me as odd, and worrisome.
I have his older books, and wouldn't part with them for the world. But somewhere in there it felt as if something had happened and he was no longer writing (or struggling badly) and the publishers, reluctant to let go of a cash cow, kept re-issuing stuff of his--and whether he was privy to it or not, I have no idea.
I'm cleaning out the deadwood because the people who will be living here after us, I suspect, are not readers, and the books might well end up in the landfill as a consequence.
One less thing to worry about, at least from my point of view.
I used to love trillin, but since Alice died, it's too sad for me. He's still valiantly trying, but.
ReplyDeleteI read a ton, but less and less from my shelves. Favorites got worn out, and I replaced them via Kindle.
If you already know who will occupy your house after you, you are way ahead on your planning than most of us!
as to Trillin, I've only begun amassing his earlier stuff, and I suspect I may never get to the newer books. Probably just as well. It's always sad to find a writer for whom the lights have dimmed that way. It's like losing a friend.
ReplyDeleteI have a great number of books that need rereading and reevaluating. If I can't get through any part of it with any joy, off it goes to the Salvation Army.
We have relatives who will be taking over when we finally leave here, and toward that end, while I can't gut the place, I can at least get on with mitigating the hunter-gatherer-hoarder instinct we both have.
Having a less than stellar memory these days is a bonus when it comes to old books that have been read and reread. I went through the entire Sue Grafton set this month, and remembered only one book enough so that I knew the entire plot by the second chapter. The rest of them were as new to me as if I had never read them at all.
Never could get into Kindle. Not sure why, except I do love the smell of books, the texture, the sense of them.