When I was a child growing up in Manchester, with only two television channels there was limited choice of what to watch. And so, with a little encouragement from my Uncle Danny, I turned to books and I’ve been an avid reader ever since. Starting with Jack Schaefer’s Shane, my first experience of the classic knight in shining armour. A restless traveler finding trouble as he wandered the frontier. This was quickly followed by Orwell’s Animal Farm, and Gerald Durrell’s My Family and Other Animals. In those early days I remember two passions that would stir my emotions, the love of waiting for the latest record and the same for story books. As I grew into my teenage years I moved on to other classic novels, probably the most impactful to me was The Mayor of Casterbridge, by Thomas Hardy. I remember this being my first thought that if I ever decided to write a story then this was how a story should be written.
Other books which have influenced me in no small a way are Ian Fleming’s Dr No, it’s not a bestseller for nothing. And John D. MacDonald’s Travis McGee mystery thriller series. I think Fleming showed me how to tell a story. And MacDonald showed me how a story should be constructed.
I absolutely love reading story books. One of my biggest thrills about going on holiday is compiling my reading list. Thank goodness for eBooks. Gone are the days when I’d need to try and cram five or six books into my suitcase and ponder which one to take on the plane. To my shame, I am a creature of habit. I go with what I know and so I tend to stick with my favorite authors, like John D. MacDonald, Stephen King, Ian Fleming, Lee Child, and Agatha Christie. But I’ve made myself a promise that the next book I read will be from an author I’ve not heard of before. To that end, I’m going to treat myself to one of LJ Ross’ DCI Ryan series. A self-published author from the north of England. Maybe I will start with Holy Island.
I do also like factual books. Especially on people of history, influence, and great endeavours. One of my favourite recent reads was a biography on the billionaire Howard Hughes. And sporting giants like Ayrton Senna, the Brazilian racing driver, and Michael Jordan. Trying to get an insight into how they think, what drives them, how their dreams appear limitless and yet are achieved.
On my reading list is also Red Dragon by Thomas Harris, and Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. Both of which come high on Lee Child’s list of recommendations. It was actually Lee Child who turned me on to John D. MacDonald story books. Once I’ve finished those that then I might do something really daring, like walking into my local book store and buying a book purely on its physical appeal. I like my eReader but I still love the feeling of getting my hands on a paperback or hardcover book.
Richard McDowall’s new RJ & Sandringham thriller A Bali Mystery is available for pre-order on Amazon at https://a.co/d/dPwgq7q
RJ & Sandringham Official Website 