Every one of the westerns in the picture is crying out to be read. They’re sitting on one shelf of a wall unit sharing space with an army of Chinese-origin Laughing Buddhas, other classics and general fiction, and some curios.
Laughing or Smiling Buddhas are supposed to bring good luck to those who keep them at home, but they've to be gifted by someone. They have been lucky for me, I guess, for I bought each of the secondhand (and tattered) western novels in the picture for Rs.10-20 (less than 25 cents).
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Some of these notable westerns are authored by Matt Chisholm, Jack Schaefer, Jory Sherman, Luke Short, George G. Gilman, Wayne D. Overholser, Loren D. Estleman, Dirk Fletcher, Jonas Ward, Giles A. Lutz, Peter Field, Louis L’Amour, Frank C. Robertson, Max Brand, Romer Zane Grey, and Robert J. Randisi. I haven’t read these particular books but I've read others by these fine authors. I have a few more stored elsewhere.
My prized collection of westerns is the Sudden series by the late British author Oliver Strange who wrote about the Wild West and his hero James Green alias Sudden, the Texas outlaw, without ever once crossing the Atlantic.
I've read a few of those. I love too that westerns are not usually massive tomes that take forever to get through.
ReplyDeleteCharles, I can never figure out which westerns to read. I wish I could read them all at the same time. I like paperbacks too partly because it's easier to read while commuting to and from work.
DeleteAmused by the idea of an "army" of laughing Buddhas.
ReplyDeleteRon, they're a formidable lot! Well, as long as they continue smiling I have nothing to worry about.
DeleteHi Prashant. How sparkingly clean is your book-shelf.
ReplyDeleteBarring a couple, I don't think I have read any western but now I am keen to read a few.
Neer, we have to dust the Buddhas and the books daily on account of vehicular pollution outside the house. This is a very small part of my modest collection of books and comics most of which are kept in a wall cabinet and elsewhere including in my office.
DeleteI have read very few westerns. Some Elmore Leonard shorts, TRUE GRIT, THE SISTER BROTHERS and LONESOME DOVE. Strangely I loved all of those so why didn't I read more. Not sure.
ReplyDeletePatti, I love westerns though I have read very few of them too. I haven't read any westerns by Elmore Leonard yet and it's something I need to look into. I have heard of the titles you mention.
DeleteGood reading!
ReplyDeleteRobert, thank you for visiting and commenting. I have some of your westerns that I'm looking forward to reading.
DeleteMany fine titles there. Luke Short is a fave around here.
ReplyDeleteDavid, thank you for visiting and commenting. I think I have only two westerns by Luke Short (Frederick Dilley Glidden) one of which, DESERT CROSSING, I still have to read.
DeleteI know next to nothing about the genre Prashant but know authors like Brand and Schaefer through film adaptations - looks like a great collection chum! Sooner or later I'm going to make the leap into this genre too
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sergio. Westerns play tug of war with all the other genres I read and they usually win. I read at least two to three of these novels every month one of which is vintage. Westerns set in and around the Civil War are of particular interest to me.
DeleteI would like to read more in this field but I'm limited by time. I loved Elmore Leonard's early Westerns which I back-tracked on once I had discovered him as a crime author.
ReplyDeleteI kind of think as Westerns as crime novels but with a different setting.
Col, you have a point about westerns being "crime novels" what with the gun fights, murder, lynching, rustling, thieving, and land grab. My interest in westerns is limiting my time for reading books in other categories. I have been meaning to read more mysteries but in vain so far. I have lined up reviews of a western short story and a novel next.
DeleteI like Col's observation about Westerns as crime novels. I should try some westerns by authors I am familiar with first, as an introduction. Elmore Leonard, Bill Pronzini, for example. When I was a child I watched many Roy Rogers and Gene Autry movies, and probably read books about them too.
ReplyDeleteTracy, I agree, Col makes a valid point. I have read Elmore Leonard's non-westerns and aim to read some of his westerns. I also need to read Bill Pronzini's mysteries, westerns, and sf. I recall Roy Rogers and Gene Autry though I'm not sure if I saw any of their movies. However, I've read Roy Rogers Dell comic-books. Thanks for the citations.
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