The Results

Sticking to the promise I made you a few days ago, here’s what I won in the writing contests: For three works of prose I received two first places for Creative Nonfiction and Personal Essay and an Honorable Mention for an Article. Two poems in the serious category won Third Place. I’ve decided it before but now I will renew my promise to leave poetry to others. Except what I write not for competition or publication. If I ever do. Nonfiction seems to be my forte, if I have one. But writers must always take judges with a grain of salt; they are only human too and must not defeat us. Soon I shall have my manuscripts back and will be interested in what they have to say. Maybe I’ll tell you. Maybe I won’t.

My reading is of greater interest to you, of course. I’ve collected another stack of books to read. With almost a weekly visit to Barnes and Noble lately with great percent-off coupons from the Internet, I’ve discovered treasures and authors new to me. It almost seems as if everyone is writing a book these days. And getting published. Anyone can try. Some succeed. Here are the gems from yesterday’s trip out.

Bloody Crimes with the subtitle The Chase for Jefferson Davis and the Death Pageant for Lincoln’s Corpse. The author is James Swanson, new to me, but he sounds like a genius and I trust that for the facts.

On the mark-down table I found A Most Wanted Man by John Le Carré. It matters not this is a 2008 copyright, for it’s one I missed earlier. Le Carré is tops with me, not just for the espionage story, but for the beauty of his wording and no dearth of super vocabulary. In fact, that ability is more important to me than the story. I’m sort of backward that way. Word-crazy.

But most important is the smallest book in the batch, the 218-page (with pages and pages of documentation) The Roots of Obama’s Rage by Dinesh D’souza, the president of King’s College in New York City. There will be more to say about this book after I have read it. But I already know it’s dynamite. For the White House.

But earlier, on Tuesday (another trip to B&N after lunch out), the lady who was with me bought a book from a favorite author of hers and insisted that I take it first to read, for she was reading two others at the moment. Well, I accepted it, and though into about twelve others at the moment, I am over half through it. It is Gone Tomorrow by Lee Child. It’s highly entertaining and as The New York Times says on the jacket, it’s “Pure escapist gold.” The series character, Reacher, has no home, no address, carries a toothbrush but no luggage. Buys new clothes when the old ones get too dirty! Just think of all the utility bills he does not get in the mail, not to mention a mortgage. He may have a point, right? But so far, I haven’t uncovered the source of his having money to spend, but he has money. Perhaps he got a stimulus package. If so, I wonder how it reached him. There’s a feeling this man doesn’t deal with banks, but perhaps this will prove wrong. Suspense, suspense, suspense. I’d better get back to him and see how he’s going to get out of the predicament he’s currently in. Yes, of course, I do chores, but as few as I can manage.

♥