REDISCOVERING GREAT READING

I enjoy any moment I can grab to read. As often as not, I have a morning read with a cup of coffee, the downstairs bathroom is crammed with books and so is my computer bag.  My other favorite place to  read is in bed in the evening.

In the mid 1990’s I was addicted to four fiction writers. As soon as a new book from either of them hit the shelves, I purchased it. 

 

John Grisham, Micheal Crichton, Tom Clancy & Jeffery Archer.

The appeal for fiction and each of those authors  dried up in the late 90’s. I felt they had reached their peak and were trading on their names – not the new content. I was bored, akin to loosing interest in Neil Young in his experimental phase.

 I lost interest in Crichton after Airframe. I purchase the new hardcover, despite being disappointed by Lost Worlds. It failed to impress. The characters were stereotyped beyond belief. 

As great a story teller as he had been in the past, two disappointing books in a row left me wanting no more.

John Grisham really captivated me. I began reading him before a number of his books were made into blockbuster Hollywood movies. I enjoyed A Time to Kill, The Firm, The Pelican Brief , The Client  The Chamber , The Rainmaker , The Runaway Jury but by the Partner his appeal was diminished.

I lost interest in Clancy when he started to write books to pay off his divorce costs. He was trading on his name and producing shit, hoping his huge fan base would settle his debts. I have not purchased a Clancy book since.

As for Jeffery Archer, I idolized the man. The Cane & Abel series, As the Crow Flies and First Among Equals were classics. Fantastic reading! I really like his short stories as well. 

This guy could twist a tale and leave you grinning! 

The Conservative Baron Archer of Weston-super-Mare became embroiled in conflict and illegal activities. He spent some time in jail. I moved on and never looked back.

Recently, I learned that perhaps I gave up on them prematurely. Over the past few weeks I stumbled on a dog eared paper back version of John Grisham’s – The Brethren.  It was a page turner. Currently, I am reading The Racketeer

Rediscovering Grisham has me wondering waht I might have missed. Have any of you read any of Archer or Clancy’s latest titles. Would you recommend anything that I might have missed?