Award-winning mystery author Mike Orenduff grew up in a house so close to the Rio Grande he could Frisbee a tortilla into Mexico from his back yard, a practice frowned upon by his mother. Like his protagonist Hubert Schuze in his Pot Thief mystery series, Mike studied anthropology. He holds a doctorate in mathematical logic and he published a number of works with such scintillating titles as A Partially Truth-Functional Modal Calculus and Are Modal Contexts Referentially Opaque? Mike’s latest Pot Thief mystery is The Pot Thief Who Studied Escoffier. Read more about Mike and his Pot Thief books at his website.
Mike has generously offered a copy of The Pot Thief Who Studied Ptolemy to one of our readers who posts a comment to the blog this week. -- AP
Why Do We Read
Like many authors, I became a writer after years of being an avid reader. I read all kinds of books – adventure, historical, travel, suspense, humor, and fantasy. But my favorite was murder mysteries. So when I retired and decided to try my hand at writing, I chose the mystery genre. After all those years of reading, you would think I knew why people read, but I didn’t. I just knew I loved to read, and many of my friends also loved to read. I never asked myself why.
I had been reading mysteries for over fifty years and I taught logic for forty years, so I figured I had the experience and skill to construct great plots. But when I gave my first stories to friends and family to read, they didn’t like them. It was only then that I asked myself why I read. Why anyone reads.
Thinking back on the books I loved the most, I realized they had one thing in common – interesting characters. The adventure books I liked the most were not those that had the wildest adventures; they were the ones with the most interesting adventurer. The travel books I liked the best were not those that dealt with the most exotic locations but with interesting travelers. And my favorite mysteries were those with the most engaging people. And it wasn’t always the protagonist who hooked me on a book. I liked Doyle because I found Dr. Watson such an engaging fellow, not because of Holmes’ stilted deductions. I didn’t like Nero Wolf as a person, but I loved Archie Goodwin, and that was enough to make me read all of Rex Stout’s books.
We read because we like to meet new and interesting people. Even better, we meet them without any of the anxiety and hassle of meeting real people. We don’t have to wear one of those silly “Hi My Name Is” stickers on our shirt. We don’t have to hold up our end of the conversation. We can escape a boor or a dullard by just closing the book and without fear of offending anyone. And we can do all of this in the comfort of our home while wearing pajamas and eating nachos.
I do not intend to imply that all readers are introverts. But even the most gregarious among us can tire of the social scene. Just ask yourself if you’ve ever been at a party and wished you were at home with a good book.
The Booklist starred review of Assault with a Deadly Glue Gun – written by the host of this blog – starts with these words: “"Oddball characters, uproariously funny situations, and a heroine with a strong sense of irony.” Not plot. Not mystery. Oddball characters and a heroine with a strong sense of irony. That is why we read.
Thanks so much for stopping by today, Mike, and for the mention of Assault with a Deadly Glue Gun at the end of your post. We are definitely an oddball group of characters! ;-) Readers, don't forget to post a comment to be entered into the drawing to win a copy of The Pot Thief Who Studied Ptolemy. Be sure to check back on Sunday to find out if you're the lucky winner.-- AP
