I can’t read a book of any kind—thriller, literary fiction, memoir, biography, even history—unless the setting speaks to me. I need to feel, with all my senses, the physical world in which the writer is trying to involve me. Often, that’s what I’m left with years later when I think of the work: not the…
“I like to write about reality.” A.I. Bezzerides (1908-2007) says that, among other things, in the 2005 documentary that was made about his life and work: The Long Haul of A.I. Bezzerides. In the case of the first of Bezzerides’s three published novels, Long Haul (1938), the reality he wrote about was the life of…
According to a new Harris poll, The Bible has retained its place atop the list of America's favorite books. In fact, the second-ranked book, Gone with the Wind kept its spot for the second consecutive poll as well. The last poll was tallied in 2008. Newcomers include: Moby Dick, Little Women, The Grapes of Wrath,…
I’m a voracious reader. At any given time I’m reading at least three books. I know very little about today’s music, even though I was a radio announcer for several years, because all my audio listening is books now. I also love to reread books and re-listen to audiobooks. There are just some writers whose…
