Mysterious Resolutions

Okay, resolution time. New year ahead and all that. So what mysterious resolutions can I offer to my friends and readers here at Classic Mysteries?

Well first, of course, I plan to continue publishing a new podcast review each Monday, with a matching blog post here the same day. I try to do those relatively early in the day, according to Eastern Time. I will continue to try to limit myself to books that are in print and readily available.

However, given the increasing popularity and lower price of ebooks, I plan to keep an eye on publishers such as Otto Penzler's Mysterious Press, which has been re-releasing a lot of excellent mysteries in ebook format.

(This is probably a good place to remind everyone that I belong to the Amazon Associates program; if you buy something from Amazon through the links from my site, including ebooks for the Kindle, I get a small percentage. Do I really have to tell you that this doesn't influence my choices or my reviews? I may be had cheaply, but not THAT cheaply!)

I do hope, however, that if you are in a place where there is an independent bookstore, particularly one that specializes in mysteries, that you will patronize them. I'll survive without my few cents. As we've seen too often over the past few years, they may not. The same holds true for some of the excellent stores that specialize in second-hand mysteries.

Another resolution: I plan to start adding some reviews of contemporary authors who continue to write in the classic/traditional mystery format. I will continue to leave the hard-boiled authors to another blogger, along with the thrillers, the serial killers, the super-noir writers and most spy stories. If I find people writing and publishing today who are working in the tradition of the Golden Age/puzzle mystery, I will try to share some of them with you along with my favorites from the classic file.

This will include some new - to me - classic mystery writers, long out-of-print, now being brought back here and there. Some of my fellow bloggers (see the blogroll below, on the right) have been reading and reviewing some first-rate authors whose names I've never encountered. I plan to correct that oversight this year.

I will also try to provide more posts - quick reviews of related books, word about mystery conferences, book awards and the like. I want to give you a reason to come visit more often. And if you are moved to leave a comment, that's a very good thing indeed.

So those are my mysterious resolutions for 2013. Whatever yours may be, I hope you will all have a peaceful, healthy and happy new year.

Comments

[Margot Kinberg]

Les - I'm looking forward to another great year of learning from your posts. And I absolutely 100% totally completely and fully agree with you about independent booksellers. Let's support 'em, folks! Oh, and did I say I think you're quite right about indie booksellers? Happy New Year!

[Jeffrey Marks]

I hope you hold to your promises for 2013. I look forward to reading more!

[Les Blatt]

Absolutely, Margot. And, folks, you don't know what a difference it can make, if you're looking for a particular hard-to-find out-of-print book, to have an independent used-mystery specialist doing the hard work for you. They need and deserve your support. Oh - and if you don't check http://margotkinberg.wordpress.com/ every day, you are missing some first-rate thinking and writing about mysteries. Just sayin'...

[Les Blatt]

Jeff, I certainly plan to keep those resolutions. And, if I don't, I'm counting on my visitors here to let me know, in no uncertain terms! Happy new year, and looking forward to more of your books this year!