Writing – Guilty Pleasures

Most writers seem to agree that reading is a vital part of the writing process. My bet is we all began our journey as writers by falling in love with stories that we read. Beyond the “Dick and Jane” readers that were the standard starting point in school, my earliest memory of a book was “The Bobbsey Twins”. They seem to be largely forgotten today. I grew as a reader moving to Hardy Boys and Tom Swift, launching my lifelong love of mysteries and science fiction. After that came all kinds of reading. I’ve read Twain, Shakespeare, and Dickens. LeCarré, Baldacci, and Grisham. Rice Burroughs to Asimov to O. Scott Card. I read a Pulitzer Prize-winning book that I hated (“Humboldt’s Gift”) and many indie author books that I’ve loved.

It sounds so grand to list all those great authors and classic books. But some folks will look askance at some of those titles. There’s the traditional (and in my opinion, irrational) disdain for genre fiction. Some will sneer at best selling authors, which is equally irrational. Being a best seller doesn’t make you a great writer, but it doesn’t equate to hackery either.

Having said that, I suppose I shouldn’t feel “guilty” about anything I read. But I have a love for the novels of Jack Higgins that has no equivalence to the quality of the books.

Higgins is a thriller novelist who hit it big with “The Eagle Has Landed” in 1975. The novel takes place toward the end of WWII and involves a last-ditch attempt to change the inevitable outcome. It moved fast, had compelling characters, and launched a career. All of his following books have sold well.

Higgins is a solid storyteller and has created some enduring characters. Sean Dillon, a “reformed” IRA gunman, now works for Brigadier Ferguson and Scotland Yard (Detective Inspector) Hannah Bernstein as the Prime Minister’s “private army”. After years of honing, the characters are precisely drawn and fleshed out. The books maintain Higgins’ reputation as a storyteller.

The downside is that they are utterly predictable. The author has a successful format and cranks one gloriously enjoyable tale after another. It’s also amusing to read the dialogue for his American characters. I just re-read 1995’s “Angel of Death” and the words he puts in President Clinton’s mouth are, well, just wrong.

But I truly don’t care. I enjoy them all too much. Like the foods I turn to in moments of stress, these are the books I turn to.

I think I’ll change the name of the category to “Comfort Reading”.

Peace

JD