Snuggle Up with a Good (Forgotten) Book

It’s an especially wintry morning here in Seattle, as a heavy cold front moves in, ensuring snow in the mountains and threatening it in the lower regions as well. And it seems chillier still--emotionally, if not actually--due to last night’s effort by southern Republicans in the U.S. Senate to decimate labor unions and, in the process, destroy the American automobile industry and send the nation’s economy further into decline. However, there’s a bit of warmth to be found in the continuing campaign by well-read bloggers to resurrect “forgotten books,” some of which might make excellent--and economical--presents this holiday season.

In addition to John Peyton Cooke’s Rap Sheet write-up about The Scarf, by Robert Bloch, today’s crop of nominees includes: Sharky’s Machine, by William Diehl; Holmes for the Holidays, edited by Anne Perry; Constable, Guard Thyself!, by Henry Wade; Drive East on 66, by Richard Wormser; 23 Shades of Black, by K.J.A. Wishnia; The Terror, by Dan Simmons; and a distinctly non-crime novel, but nonetheless appropriate right now--The Polar Express, by Chris Van Allsburg. Three more books get the thumbs-up in Patti Abbott’s blog: Gun with Occasional Music, by Jonathan Lethem; Blue Heaven, by Joe Keenan; and The Caveman’s Valentine, by George Dawes Green (a work that’s been languishing on my shelves, unread, for years now--maybe it’s time to bring it down).

Go to Abbott’s blog, too, to find a complete listing of today’s forgotten book picks.