Why Read?

Why read? That is an interesting question. I suppose there are a number of different ways to take to answer it. Why do I read? One of the primary reasons is for the enjoyment. I enjoy reading mysteries (no duh?) but I read other things as well. I especially like to read books by Texas authors but I do not limit it there either.

So how do I decide what to read? There are so many choices out there and not a whole lot of time left over to actually read. Well ..., once I come across an author and a series, I like to continue in the series. One such author who happens to be a Texas author is Bill Crider who lives in the Alvin, TX area - down in my old neck of the woods. I just recently finished the latest book in his Dan Rhodes Mystery series. It is called Murder In Four Parts. This is the sixteenth book in the series featuring the fictional sheriff in Blacklin County. And yes ... I've read all of the books in the series. The series has a lot of interesting characters including the sheriff. You just gotta like this sheriff. I do have a question lingering now that I completed this book. Is our sheriff fixin' to (that is one of those Texas sayings) stop being a sheriff? Two things cause me to wonder about this. First there is a lot of talk by constituents about our sheriff needing to do some things if he expects to be elected again - two years down the road. The other thing is how the cover of the book says this is a Dan Rhodes Mystery - not a Sheriff Dan Rhodes Mystery like I've seen in the past. I guess time will tell.

Generally, I like to start a series from the first book in the series. And if I like it I continue in the series. As you may know from a previous post, I thought I was starting with the first book in a Miniature series by Margaret Grace. It ends up I got the third book in the series by mistake. I enjoyed it and got the first two books in the series (Murder in Miniature and Mayhem in Miniature) as well. This is about a retired teacher called Geraldine Porter. She happens to be involved in making miniatures. (By the way, the author is also involved in making miniatures.) I discovered some common interests with the character like her interest in the library, the friends of the library, and tutoring. This is one of those other things I like to find in the books I read.

I have also been introduced to some books I would not otherwise would have read. An obvious source is friends who share an interest in reading. Another source of recommended readings is through a Mystery Book discussion Group I belong to at a local Barnes and Noble. Occasionally I find out about authors through invitations to participate in virtual book tours. One thing for sure - there is a variety of books out there to read. And they are written by all kinds of people from different walks of life and different perspectives. READING IS GREAT!!! What are your reasons for reading?