"First Blood" by David Morrell (1972) and "God Drives A Flying Saucer" by R L Dione (1973) are among the first "impulse buy" books I purchased with my own money. In those days, paperback books were sold at supermarket checkout lines, holding place next to the candy and gum.
Those early purchases occupied my mind during vacation trips to Florida and Louisiana. I imagine my parents were grateful that I read instead of arguing with my brother and sister.
Over the years I've tried to broaden my horizon, purchasing "vacation" books from various genres. A list of those reads might never be among any pundits top ten, but I found them to be thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining. Among those reads were:
"The Killer Angels" by Michael Shaara (1974) A novel about the battle of Gettysburg that won the Pulitzer in 1975; "The Wolf and The Dove" by Kathleen Woodiwiss (original edition 1974 with republications in '76, '87, '90, and '95) A fantastic historical romance; "The Mammoth Hunters" by Jean M Auel (1985) A novel set in the early days of civilization; and "The Name Of The Rose" by Umberto Eco (1980) A novel of murder set in an Italian monastery.
I believe we should leave our comfort zone at times and read outside our normal genre. It gives us perspective. As such...
The 24 hour short story competition from yesterday provided a difficult and interesting task. I'm sure many participants went with the mundane, but, given my personality, I could not. My Click Here reading, which I will link AFTER 1:00 pm est TODAY (the contest deadline), will give access to "The Wyman Initiative" the short story I've submitted. I hope you enjoy.
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