More blogging about books….

Since my last blog about books and mentioning “The Lost Symbol” by Dan Brown I have read two other novels and started a third.

The next book I read after Dan’s latest offering was “A Spy By Nature” by Charles Cumming. He is a British author that I discovered from Facebook. Charles Cumming sent me a friend request and not knowing who he was I looked him up. He is a fellow Daniel Silva Facebook friend from London. So I figured what the heck, any fan of Daniel has got to be ok. I accepted his friend request and the next time I was at Barnes & Noble I ordered one of his books. “A Spy By Nature” published in 2001 was the only Charles Cumming’s novel they had in stock in the warehouse. I have to say, I enjoyed the book and look forward to reading more by him. I found the British viewpoint interesting and entertaining, being an American. One thing I noticed was that it was very realistic and believable. I was very pleased towards the end when he doesn’t skirt around it and allowed the truth to jump out. I am not a literary expert; I am just a reader so I guess the fact that I will be purchasing more of Charles Cumming’s work says enough.

I had such a good time reading the Cumming novel I went ahead and dove into “The Dark of The Sun” by Wilbur Smith. I first read Wilbur Smith in the seventies starting with his Egyptian novels, “River God” and “The Seventh Scroll.” I had always read for pleasure all during high school. When I spent six months flat of my back either in traction or a body cast, I read several books. I think what attracted me to these novels of ancient Egypt was that I was looking for something deeper. These first two books I read made me a Wilbur Smith fan. When I read his recent Egyptian novel “The Quest” I got to wondering if he had become darker in his writing. After finishing his last offering “Assegai” my curiosity increased about his work. Had his writing become darker more mystical and even more sensual in nature? So I picked up a paperback copy of “The Dark of The Sun” in an effort to see for myself. This is his second novel published in 1965.

Did I find a difference in his 1965 work versus his present day offerings? Yes, but not the difference I expected. I thoroughly enjoyed “The Dark of The Sun” and the African mercenary tale. What I saw was that his more recent writings are smoother and more visual in nature. His story line flows better and the action sequences grip the reader more. One example was the big game hunting portions that were featured in “Assegai” as easily compared to the shooting of water buffalo for food in “The Dark of The Sun” novel. “Assegai” will excite any hunter with the descriptions of the hunt and kill. The 1965 version was still enjoyable but I could see the author’s improvement in skill. The dark human element was there as well as the sensual aspect, I guess his writing style has improved to the degree these elements became more prominent to the reader. So after thirty-two published novels in several languages since 1964, Wilbur Smith hasn’t allowed his work to degrade. It is no secret why he is considered one of the best, if not the best, historical novelist. Personally I am more impressed with the content of his books over the mass marketing campaigns I see of others.

The book I am presently reading is a novel I found on a bargain sale. I think I only paid a couple of bucks for it. Being a bibliophile I like looking over the bargain tables. I have found some interesting books some of which that are an author’s first novel. Finding novels like “The Man Who Ate the 747” by Ben Sherwood and Adriana Trigiani is the reward for looking over bargain tables. I basically have more books than bookshelves but refuse to discard any of them.

The present bargain book I am reading is “The Law of Gravity” by Dennis Morgan Cottrell published in 1995. This is his first novel and from what I have found on the Internet, so far his only novel. What induced me to spend a couple of bucks on this novel was his opening line, “I suspect that most everybody living below the Mason-Dixon Line has heard of me,” How Southern is that?

I guess every author stresses over the first line. It is only human nature to want your own “Call me Ishmael”, “All this happened, more or less” or “Who is John Galt?” Those first key words sometimes sell the book. I am not a novelist but I do write articles for my Shrine Club newsletter, so I also want to grab the reader in the first paragraph so they will want to read more. I can only imagine what a writer goes through in deciding on the elements which make up the marketing of his work. Title, cover art and the synopsis all must take up considerable time and effort. I know if you include a knife on the cover art; I am going to pick it up and look the book over. I also noticed once I owned several red colored books, go figure. There is a lot less stress in buying bargain books; if the novel sucks you can always use it to prop up a couch with a broken leg. I have found more good ones than bad ones though; something to read while you are waiting for your favorite authors to crank out a new one.

I am still in the early stages of “The Law of Gravity” but so far I have found it enjoyable and different from novels I usually gravitate towards. (Pun intended) The author is doing a beautiful job of telling the tale from the perspective of a dirt poor thirteen year old boy. I will finish it while Daniel is locked in a room with Gabriel and until I can get to the north side of town to pick up Charles Cumming’s latest releases. I have no idea what Wilbur is up to but maybe number 33 is in his head.

On a personal note: My father-in-law bought me a new scope for my rifle, so hopefully I will get to have my own hunting sequence this year. Maybe I can bloody up one of the “several” custom made knives I own. I donated one that I have owned for several years and never used to my lodge last night. We are going to raffle it off to raise a little money for the lodge. So I’m in a pretty good mood.