Reader Responsibility

I received my latest mailing from Mystery Guild last night and as I was perusing the packet it occurred to me how out of touch I am with contemporary authors. There's probably a reason (it's called "taking classes for the past three years straight"). And I haven't purchased from Mystery Guild in a while and there's a reason for that too - it's called the library. I'm a little tired of spending money on crap books that just hang around my house. I am also trying to be a little more selective in choosing what I buy. Just because I've read all the other books in a series doesn't mean that I want to have them around all the time.

For example, I have purchased and read all the "Cat Who" books by Lillian Jackson Braun. I like these books a lot, I really do, but I've also found that as time goes on the stories become a tad less complex and the margins on the page increase. I think it is great that someone continues to write as they age because mental acuity is great at staving off the loss of memory (obviously as a doctor I'm qualified to make this dogmatic statement). However, there comes a time when I must stop spending money on these books (especially when there are so many other things to spend my money on). Another author who started increasing her margins is Phyllis Whitney. Back in the 80's I hit the jackpot at the Quantico library and purchased a ton of books for ten cents each, books by Victoria Holt and Phyllis Whitney. I'm not that much of a snob that I would deny reading them because I think both women are gifted story tellers (and they are NOT Danielle Steel novels - I do have standards). But when we moved up here and the movers were packing our 20,000 pounds worth of stuff, I had to make a decision and Phyllis and Victoria had to go. And as I've been slowly unpacking I've been getting rid of many other books too.

Ultimately I've been trying to whittle down the books I own in order to keep only those that I've read two to three times and will most likely read again. My comfort books I call them. And the others, well, I'll just find them at the library.