Wide-Ranging Reading

As usual my reading list continues to be as wide-ranging as my mind some days. Genre fiction is what some of it is often called. The "mystery" genre or the speculative fiction or science fiction genre are two that I have often enjoyed. I recently finished a Spanish mystery, Prime Time Suspect and an anthology of stories from Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine from the past 30 years.

I have tried my hand at short story fiction over the years and like many writers would love to write a novel. When I read a fine murder mystery I shake my head in wonder at how the story tells a number of different stories. I read a short story in a Sci-Fi anthology and I am led in wonder into new worlds that I can't even begin to imagine.

Some people will put down genre fiction like these but they are anything but second-rate. They may never be considered great literature but some do come mighty close to greatness. They stretch me when I read them as well as entertain me. A good crime novel can twist all kinds of neurons into new shapes. It makes me pay attention to details and focus a little more closely on the things I might read right past. A good skill to have.

Science Fiction can also have powerful social comments. I remember once reading a series of short stories that pre-dated the Hugo Awards. They listed them in chronological order. It was very interesting to note, for example, that right after World War II the great stories dealt with humanity wiping itself out in a nuclear-type disaster. The need for humanity to find new solutions to its problems other than wars was clearly on the minds of these future-thinkers.

So, as always I repeat one of my writing and reading mantras- truth is often much too important to be left to simple facts. Only fiction at times can tell the deepest and most powerful truths.