Danny January: Blog

I probably read more than most folks. I average a couple of fiction books per week, along with technical journals. The thought crossed my mind that if you like what I write, you might also like what I read. Maybe. Maybe not. You never know.

I get an email everyday from Bookbub with their recommendations. They send out a list of on sale books that fit a profile I give them. The goal is to get you to try new authors and most books are $1.99 or less.

I also use Libby which is a library app so I can check out digital books for free. I can afford to buy books but why should I if I can get the books I'm interested in for free.

Here's a few books I read this last year that I thought were exceptional in one way or the other.

Lost Birds by Anne Hillerman. Anne took over the Chee/Leaphorn series when her father died and she's done a wonderful job. Mysteries on the reservation.

You Never Know by Tom Selleck. I like Selleck and his partial autobiography was well written and entertaining.

From the Horse's Point of View by Debbie Steglic. Really helpful for the equestrian.

The Only Woman in the Room, by Marie Benedict. This was a wonderful biographical novel about Hedy Lamar. Well written and very interesting.

A Woman of No Importance by Sonia Purnell. This wasn't particularly well written but the life was definitely worth reading about. It's the true story of an American woman who, against all odds, became a leader in the French underground during WWII. Incredible courage.

Crow Mary by Kathleen Grissom. This is probably the best book I've read in the last 10 years. Absolutely fascinating (mostly) true story about a Crow woman named Goes First, who marries a white fur trader. I should have read this on a Saturday. It kept me up all night. I can't recommend this book highly enough.

I read a lot of average books and abandoned some real dogs. The books I mentioned above were pretty good, and some were great.

Here's a tool you might be interested in: www.literature-map.com
Go to the website and type in your favorite author. It will generate a "map" of authors that other readers liked. If you type in Ernest Hemingway, authors like JD Salinger, John Steinbeck, and F. Scott Fitgerald are close. It's not that they write about the same things or in the same way. It's that people who like Papa, also like those authors. Don't know who to read next? Go to that website and give it a try.

Let me know what you think.

It's that time of year again. I think this is an interesting tool for readers to discover new authors. Go vote for your favorites, then drop me a note and tell me who you like or what story you like and why. I'd love to hear it.

I just update recipes. It was one of, if not the first story I posted. When I first posted it, I had no idea that I'd be writing as much as I have been. Several of my stories are of the "as told by" nature and "Recipes" was no exception. I changed the name of the protagonist so it wouldn't be so confusing, made some general edits and clarified a few things that could have been confusing. Also, I added an "Author's Note" at the end.

I'm nearing the end of the first draft of Tourist Season and needed a bit of a break before finishing up. I saw the definite need to update the Beach House series (for reasons that will be intuitively obvious to even the most casual observer) before publishing Tourist Season. One thing lead to another and I reworked Recipes. Now, back to Tourist Season.

By the way, thanks to those who have supported The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. That is much appreciated.

And, for those who have asked, our horses do just fine in the cold weather. They develop a nice fuzzy coat that will shed like crazy in a couple of months. We leave the fuzz out near the bird feeders and they use it for their nests.

I've been working on "Tourist Season" chronicling the summer of 1982 when I realized the need to re-visit the Beach House stories. The reason will become obvious when you read "Tourist Season". I did a bit of editing and clarified a couple of things but made no real substantive changes to the content other than that. I also made a couple of editorial changes to "Maja's Mom" as I'd used the wrong name a couple of places and I'm sure it could be confusing for readers.

In the process of writing both the Beach House and Jack Pierce Chronicles, I've realized that what I'm actually writing is historical fiction. That's a fairly grandiose term for what I've been doing but I suppose it fits. It has made me more aware of the advantages and challenges of doing so. A big advantage for the author is that for more recent events, you can rely on the reader to understand the context. However, for events that have happened long ago, or in a distant land, you have the opportunity to educate the reader. "Gone with the Wind" by Margaret Mitchel or "Shogun" by James Clavell are marvelous examples of that. One of my favorites is "The Killer Angels", by Michael Shaara. Leon Uris is always good.

I want to thank all my readers who have sent notes of thanks and notes to correct errors of all kinds. I've been having fun with this "new" hobby and am glad to see so many readers enjoying the effort.

I hope y'all have your popcorn ready for this afternoon. Looking forward to watching the Yellowjackets sink the Commodores. Go Jackets!!