Some Mysteries

I have enjoyed mysteries, including kinds of mysteries other than murder mysteries (think, Edgar Allan Poe's "The Purloined Letter" and even some of the cases of Alexander McCall Smith's No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency). In this day and age, it becomes difficult to write and publish something other than a "murder mystery," even with the genre-defying novels featuring witches, werewolves, fairies, angels, dinosaurs and food critics all which feature stumbling over or being called to investigate dead bodies as the stimulus for the entire story, the reason for being.

Genre-bending are three titles which I'd like to share but not today or this posting will never get published


Another Mystery: Thank You to Follower of this blog and Books on First fan Deb M has been coming into Books on First, probably since we first opened in October 1998. She and partner Dennis lived in Peoria and now own a house in Washington, IL. Originally from Dixon with family still in town, long-haul truckdriver Dennis drops Deb off in town before a run and then, comes picks her up when he is back in Illinois. Before the acidity became too much, Deb was a daily two larger cups of black coffee customer. And, now, I see that when she is not in Dixon, she keeps in touch with Books on First through this blog and Fans of Books on FirstFacebook (Hi, Deb!)

Generously, she has told me what a great blog this is and says she doesn't leave comments, because I leave her with nothing to say (don't know how to take that). But, the big question she had: why aren't more people following this blog? Sometimes, life is a mystery, Deb. However, it does give me a chance to write and write and edit and edit and edit and edit some more without the pressure of producing for "my readers" as Julie Powell called the readers and followers of her blog.

Speaking of obligation to readers, I heard an extensive (for prime time) interview on NPR's All Things Considered with writer Orhan Pamuk, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2006 when he was 54. He said that this award and the exposure it has given him to readers around the world has pushed him to be a more responsible writer and to be a better writer, because they have expectations that need fulfilled. What a two-edged sword recognition is.