Books
I know that most of the few who read this site like, at least, dogs (cats are widely admired too), and a few love them. If you like dogs at all, you'll enjoy this book, even if you're not a big fan of mysteries (do such people really exist?). When I first noticed it at the library I chuckled, then I read some of the blurbs and two or three were by writers whose work I really like. I tend to try new writers when they're lauded by writers I like (and I've found this to be pretty reliable). Oh, and just for grins, Chet has his own website named . . . drumroll please - Chet The Dog.
Over the years, I've mostly concentrated on reading mysteries and adventure novels - with spies, secret agents, police and detectives being the primary protagonists - and that still comprises a large percentage of what I read. But a few years back, on a suggestion from Shane, I expanded my reading world, adding a fair number of non-fiction books, especially history. From that point I've also started to actively seek out well written novels of life in general, not necessarily those involving death and despair. John Hart was one of the first I discovered of the latter type. If you have interest in really good prose, used to tell a really good story, I highly recommend his first novel, Downriver, as well as his later works.
I also have an interest in books about life in the mountains, especially in the decades preceding my birth, possibly because I was born so near them. A few years back, Dawn and Shane gave me a book called Appalachian Folkways, which I greatly enjoyed. I also recently found and read Our Appalachia: An Oral History, written from a collection of tape recordings made largely by college students in the early seventies. Put together by Laurel Shackelford and Bill Weinberg, this is a truly fascinating read, if you have interest in such.
I've also discovered Silas House, a young writer born and brought up in Appalachia, who evokes the mood of the mountains and those who were brought up there as well as anyone. Again, if you have interest, read his books in order, starting with Clay's Quilt, as each builds on the earlier. Last week I found a lady named Janisse Ray, who wrote Wild Card Quilt, and no, I'm not sure if all mountain writers have a thing about quilts or not. Ms. Ray, born in rural Georgia, moved away for nearly two decades and in this book, recounts her return, now with a son, to her roots. In doing so, she exhibits a rare talent for prose, mood and especially, heart. Should you have interest in such subjects, I could not recommend these two writers more.
I've enjoyed widening my reading diet, but I've noticed something that when younger I could not have believed. In every library I've ever seen, the biggest separation of books is that between fiction and non-fiction; they're usually on opposite sides of the building. This separation is true here at my local branch too, but I really take issue with how they determine what belongs in the non-fiction section. In there I can find books written by Chris Matthews (of MSNBC fame), President Teleprompter, Dick Cheney, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and for crying out loud, Al (I invented the internet) Gore.
Those who admire any of these folks will believe whatever they write, and vice versa. I understand that, but to have scriblings by any of those named on the same shelf with true historians really urinates me off. Hampton Sides is my favorite example: Hellhound on His Trail, about James Earl Ray and the MLK murder, Ghost Soldiers, about the rescue of those left after the Bataan Death March, and Blood and Thunder, the story of Kit Carson. Read any one of those and you'll understand my disgust. I'd even go so far to state that Chet the dog belongs on the non-fiction shelf before Al Gore does. But so does every other dog.