Thursday, December 31, 2020

The Wrap Up


I don’t have to tell any of you that this has been a pretty rotten year in many ways, but around here, Livia and I have been fortunate in that we’ve been able to carry on working as usual. Because of that, I topped one million words of fiction for the 16th straight year (my usual goal of slowing down not having panned out, also as usual). That million words encompassed eight solo novels and five collaborative novels. No short fiction this year, but I plan to do at least one novella in 2021. No fiction under my own name, either, but that will change next year.

On the reading front, I had my second-best year since I started keeping records in 1980, with 164 books read. The fact that we were home more than usual may have had something to do with that. Here are my top ten favorites from the books I read, in alphabetical order by author and with links to my reviews of them:

WILD BLOOD, A.C. Abbott
THE SPICY-ADVENTURE MEGAPACK, Robert Leslie Bellem, Victor Rousseau, et al.
HOLOCAUST HOUSE, Norbert Davis
A HACK’S NOTEBOOK, Ben Haas
DEATH SQUAD, Alan Hebden
FOREVER AND A DAY, Anthony Horowitz
DEAD EVIDENCE: THE COMPLETE BLACK MASK CASES OF HARRIGAN, Ed Lybeck
ENGINEERING INFINITY #1: THE DUST OF STARS, Robert E. Vardeman
WHEN TIGERS ARE HUNTING: THE COMPLETE ADVENTURES OF CORDIE, SOLDIER OF FORTUNE,VOLUME 1, W. Wirt
A TRAWL AMONG THE SHELVES: LAWRENCE BLOCK BIBLIOGRAPHY 1958-2020, Terry Zobeck

That’s four books reprinted from the pulps and two more by authors who sold to the pulps (Abbott and Haas). There were a lot of other good books on my list that came close to cracking the top ten. Overall, it was a good year for reading, and I already have a lot of great stuff lined up to read in 2021.

Which I hope will be a vast improvement for all of us. I’m not at all convinced that it will be, mind you . . . but there’s nothing wrong with hoping.

7 comments:

Jeff Meyerson said...

Happy New Year and let's hope it's better for us all.

And thanks for reminding me about the Block Bibliography, which I bought, started, and forgot in the clutter of my mind and my Kindle.

Unknown said...

Glad your year wasn't too bad

James Reasoner said...

We were much more fortunate than many folks. More stressed out than usual, an annoying assortment of age-related ailments, but still rolling along and thankful for all the good things.

Charlie Steel said...

James,

It is common to have great energy at a young age to accomplish multiple tasks, like working full and part time, going to college, raising a family with children, paying bills, and writing tons of stories. (I did all that for many years, but in later life have slowed down.)

It appears you haven't slowed down at all. I sincerely hope you are able to get up and move around. And...I said this before, I hope this doesn't affect your health.

Still a million words for so many, many years. Few, if any professional writers accomplish that much. I hope your words sell. (You make the rest of us look like paltry amateurs.)

Happy New Year---I hope it is a great one for you and your family.

Charlie Steel

Terry Zobeck said...

James, you are obviously a man of refined and brilliant taste.

Gary Dobbs/Jack Martin said...

Here's hoping we all have a great 2021 - as always I am in awe of your productivity.

Paperback Warrior said...

Well done, sir! You’re an inspiration.