Book Collections

  LUCY BURDETTE: Eight years ago, my wonderful stepmother died unexpectedly, which meant that we needed to move my dad (who had Alzheimer's) to be near my sister in Florida. And this meant that John and I needed to go to South Jersey to clear out his office. He'd been a book collector all his life – we didn't have the same taste, he preferred history to my fiction. As we were sorting through those books, deciding which would go to the library and which we would send to his room in an assisted living facility, we got a little window into his psyche. Here's an example of what he was interested in; as you can see he was fascinated with American Indians and their battles with white men. We got the biggest giggle out of his impressive collection of books about white women who'd been captured by Indians. Freud might've had a field day with that but I will leave it alone. 

If you look on my shelves, aside from the huge piles of mysteries and women's fiction, you'd find a big collection of foodie books. (This doesn't even count the horde of cookbooks I have in the kitchen, many of which I haven't looked at in years.) To me, food is so much more than eating to stay alive. And the people who write foodie books write about food as a conduit for relationships and history and love.

Reds and red readers, what are your book collections like, if you have them?

HALLIE EPHRON: I have a tiny book-lined office -- crime fiction, writing, and reference. If I acquire a new book one has to go out... that's the rule.

Jerry's cool collection

My husband, on the other hand, is a serious book collector. Old illustrated children's books, books about New York City, and birds are his sweet spots. He's also cheap, so most of what we have has been acquired at yard sales. And there's a TON of them in bookcases all over the house, so I'm sure my children will have a miserable time going through it when it comes that time.

Here's just a sample of some small books he has tucked in at the end of a row in a bookcase with glass doors. Irresistible, right? He's a keeper, too.

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN:  Not many "collections"- but a few books I treasure. 
These are in my study: the beautiful Sue Graftons, just a few so far. And my Nancy-Trixie-Cherry Ames shelf.   There are bookcases all over our house, gosh, just about in every room, and one lining the hallway upstairs.  We just gave hundreds of books to the library, but you almost cannot tell. Which is so sad. I fear there are piles on the floor in my study, but they are behind a chair so you can't see them.  :-)  It's just so difficult to get rid of books.  Hallie, that's a good rule. But so far, not doing it!  (But then--it drives me crazy that I can't find the one I want. Somewhere in our house is the Ruth Ware book. But where?) (I know, it sounds like a who's on first...)
 

DEBORAH CROMBIE: A couple of years ago I purged about 400 books from my house. To be fair, some of them were loads of foreign editions of my own books, but most were just accumulated odds and ends. Don't worry, there are plenty left! But I have tried to be better about passing on things I don't think I'll reread. The shelves in my upstairs office (once again groaning and triple-stacked) are mostly to-read books, and the research books I've used for my novels. The shelves in the downstairs office are mostly mystery series that are "keepers" for me, and some fantasy and sci-fi. The bookshelves in the hall and the dining room, however, are an odd assortment of classics and children's books, biology, poetry, biography, and things long out of print. Here are a couple of my favorite shelves (looking forward to sharing some of these with Wren in a year or few!) That's two bookcases out of five in our hall, and there are two more in the dining room. Maybe I should purge again...

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I'm not sure if I'm a book collector as much as I am a book KEEPER. We have boxes of books in the attic. Shelves in the hallways and on the stair landings. Each of the kids has at least three bookshelves in their rooms. There are stacks in the bathrooms. In fact, the only place where they're aren't any books are downstairs in the cellar (too damp) and in the entryway (we need the room for coats, boots, etc.)

That being said, I do have a nice collection of books by other mystery authors signed to me, or to Ross, or just signed. I keep a bunch of them in this living room bookshelf/glasses tray/curio cabinet. The only ones I know for sure have any monetary value are the three first printing, first edition copies of IN THE BLEAK MIDWINTER that I saved for the kids, currently going for $300 to $400 on ABE. Why didn't someone tell me to hang on to the rest of my author copies?!? I also have THE WHITE TRILOGY by Ken Bruen, a softcover published by Justin Charles & Co, Kate's Mystery Books imprint. It was brand new in 2003 when I bought it at her annual holiday party in Cambridge (remember how much fun those were?) and now it's worth between $300 and $400, too. Who knew?

Of course, I'm never going to unload any of my books, so I suppose it'll be my grandchildren who reap the financial rewards of collecting. Unless they're book keepers as well, in which case, these babies may never go on the market.

 
SUSAN ELIA MACNEAL: Not really enough room in a NYC condo for collections of any kind (although that doesn't stop Noel), but I did put together a set of Random House children's classics for Kiddo. I started when I was in my twenties (a lot of them are my favorites, too!) and now he's been dipping in. I usually get him a new one every Christmas, too!

How about you Reds? what would we find on your shelves?

Victoria Abbott on Mothers and Daughters.

Rhys: So which would you prefer--reading a book by a tried and true author you love or trying a book by an exciting-sounding new author? How about having your cake and eating it, as my father used to say.

Today at Jungle Red we're thrilled to welcome new author Victoria Abbott who just happens to be old friend Mary Jane Maffini, now writing a new series with her daughter Victoria under the pen name Victoria Abbott.

Their first book together in a series about about book collectors is called   THE CHRISTIE CURSE  and we're welcoming Mary Jane today to tell us just what the experience was like when mother and daughter try to work together:

Take it away, MJ.

Victoria Abbott:

You think politics is fraught with peril?

Trust me, the politics of the mother/daughter relationship sometimes resembles a slow tiptoe though a minefield and occasionally it’s the mad tumble over a waterfall straight onto the rocky outcroppings below.  But then again, when it’s good, it’s very very good.

The day my daughter Victoria and I signed the contract to write the book collector mysteries—as Victoria Abbott—we were practically dancing. We loved the idea and the possibilities for the characters and their adventures in the world of obsessed book collectors. We’d both been part of Prime Crime mystery bookstore for several years and we knew and loved mysteries. We cherished the books and authors of the so-called golden age of mystery. We enjoyed each other’s company. So, what could go wrong?  Oh wait, isn’t that the question that authors ask themselves just before the explosion/train wreck/collapsing floor/freezer door locking shut/man with a gun?

Sure we had our differences: We found that age has an impact on language and “some people” have a roundabout way of speaking that wouldn’t serve a contemporary sleuth in her mid-twenties.  Homogenizing the dialogue and description was a big part of our rewrite. This book shouldn’t sound like either one of us.

Speaking of peril, what about commas? Never mind. Not talking about them at all.

We did need to find a way to produce scenes. We tried alternating scenes, sitting across the table from each other and working them out, each one twitching when the other took charge. But in the end, the best way was to have a conversation on the phone, acting (and living) each scene, with one person keyboarding like a demented monk and the other one … I don’t know, taking a bath?  

As for ideas, there was no shortage, although we didn’t always like the other’s suggestion. We each have a veto for what’s brought to the plot, but it’s a last resort. We both have to be satisfied that a scene works and belongs in the book. When we didn’t see eye-to-eye, time took care of that and eventually we could tell whether or not that scene or idea would make the cut.

By the end of The Christie Curse: a book collector mystery, we discovered many things we hadn’t realized we had in common. Apparently, we believe strongly in the entertainment value of eccentric relatives, real and fictional. We are amused by the comic possibility of a low level criminal family who raised an honest young woman. Despite this leaning, we have a commitment to justice and the right outcome.  We love dogs and admire, but are wary of, cats—and yet, there they are. We still feel those fictional scratches.

We are fascinated by vast historic houses with mile-long corridors, acres of manicured property and antiques, although Victoria knows a lot more about them.   

Turns out, we are deft at bumping off people. We love to laugh and we revel in that frisson of fear that the darkest moment brings.  Then there’s food. We managed to bring in many of the mouth-watering Italian dishes that we’d been lucky enough to be served over the years and that we can now prepare ourselves (dirtying every dish and utensil in the house).  

And that’s another thing: we’ve become quite fond of Jordan Bingham, our young and resourceful researcher who is the actual sleuth. She’s neither of us. She’s who is needed to do this job. To balance out the challenges she faces, we gave her a great vintage wardrobe, a cozy garret, a classic Saab and the ability to eat anything she wants without feeling the pinch of a vintage waistband.

In the end, we were happy with the results.  As for the process, the worst part for me was biting my tongue. I didn’t ask Victoria what the worst part was. I was afraid she might not hold back. As they say, discretion over valor. We’ve just started The Wolfe Widow, the third in the book collector series, so that’s a good thing.

Thanks so much for the chance to visit Jungle Red Writers!  Victoria and I feel honored and grateful. It’s a very good jungle you have here. 

Rhys: As the world's biggest fan of Agatha Christie I can't wait to get my hand on this book, but you can also get a signed copy right now by leaving the best comment of the day on this blog. And by the way, MJ, shouldn't it be called The Wolfe Whistle? 

Victoria Abbott is a collaboration between artist and photographer Victoria Maffini and her mother, mystery writer, Mary Jane Maffini. They have lived to tell the tale. www.victoria-abbott.com and can be found lurking at www.mysteryloverskitchen.com and www.killercharacters.com and even pinterest.com/jbinghamkelly.