Now . . . The Joy (Patricia Potter)

Now For Joy . . .





The book is done!!!
Deadline hell ends.
There's a day of sleep, then another to clean a desk piled high with research books and old chapters that were rewritten. And now comes the reward, the joy.
The joy is, of course, is books. Books and more books. I'll take a week, maybe even two, and do nothing but read, read, read. In between, of course, promoting the book that has just come out. (Plug:”Tempting The Devil”).

Haven’t read lately. Been working on the book or visiting my 96-year-old Mom. Doing promotion for new book. No time to do what I love best.
Now, though, I plan to indulge.
I have a growing pile (no, make that piles) of new books to be read. But in my search for books for my garage sale, I renewed acquaintance with a number of wonderful books that have sat ignored for years. I have created a new pile of old favorites.

New or old? Decisions. Decisions.
Decided to compromise. Half and half.

The old half: One of my favorite books of all time is “The Proud Breed,” by Celeste DeBlasis, a family saga that starts with an a young girl growing up in early California until her death at age one hundred. She became a friend during the course of the 700-page book. I probably sold at least a hundred copies for her so enthusiastic I was. And now it’s time for another read. Then comes another old favorite: Helen MacInnes, the original modern romantic suspense author. Oh. but I loved every one of her books. And the wonderful Mary Stewart for extraordinary gothic romances and historical fiction..

And “Gone With The Wind.” Perhaps I feel a little possessive about Margaret Mitchell. I worked for the Atlanta Journal, and she was a legend there, having also been a staff member prior to writing the book. When the sequel was written, the Journal called me and asked me for my opinion as president of the Georgia chapter of RWA. Trying to be coherent, I reread the book I first read in junior high school. What a masterpiece of characterization! And what a travesty was the sequel (and this has nothing to do with writing, and everything to do with the the integrity of the author's vision). My judgment for the paper: a misappropriation of characters.

As for the new: I have so many fave authors, including my fellow bloggers (I love my company here, and I love their books), there's a surfeit of riches. I have been collecting them for months. They sit next to my desk, tempting and alluring. The gold at the end of the rainbow.

My idea of heaven is indulging in both new and old reading pleasures. And I love the mixture. It’s always instructive for a writer to go back and
read books from previous generations and decades. Books written in the 1950's, 1960's and even 1980's are different from those written today. More leisurely. Remember “Hawaii” and “Centennial?” They required a real commitment of time. Today’s books are more active, more of the page-turner variety. I think it has to do with television and what we expect in entertainment. We have less time, and our attention span seems shorter.

It’s not to say that either is better. Just different. Each with their own attraction.

So tell us about those books that you want to revisit. Those books that made you love reading. And those you love today. And keep you reading.