Remember the Forgottens

I want to second something author and blogger Patti Abbott wrote yesterday--that as we choose presents for friends and relatives this holiday season, we ought not be limited to buying new books, hot off the presses There are myriad older works as well, some of them classics, that are just as deserving of our attention. We’ve been highlighting a number of those here at The Rap Sheet over the last few months, in association with Abbott’s Friday forgotten books series. But we paid tribute to even more such titles in this blog’s first-anniversary One Book Project, which asked writers to answer the question, “What one crime, mystery, or thriller novel do you think has been most unjustly overlooked, criminally forgotten, or underappreciated over the years?”

Now, I know it’s easy to go out and purchase the latest books available; that way, you stand a better-than-average chance of buying something for the folks on your gift list that they haven’t already snapped up for themselves. But try to give some thought, too, to investing in works that once won your adoration, even though they may have a few years on them now. Good stories simply don’t outstay their welcomes.

And as we endure today’s economic recession, it even makes sense to stop by used-book stores. You never know what treasures might be found there, in excellent condition. Chances are, nobody else will think of giving a book lover some out-of-print gem from Erle Stanley Gardner, Lee Roberts, Jonathan Valin, or William Campbell Gault this Christmas. Far from looking old-fashioned, you might well be applauded for originality.