Time to read the old favourites and find new ones

I have so much more time to read at the moment that I am trying to stretch out what I haven't read yet and pick a few favourites from way back. It's nice to have a TBR pile next to my bed but I have nearly got to the end of it now and while searching for new stuff, I like to relax with someone that I have enjoyed before and know I will enjoy again. It's like visiting old friends. If I'm feeling particularly vulnerable, I choose Jane Austen. My favourite of hers is Emma followed by Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion. But with the exception of Northanger Abbey, I love all her writing. She was witty and perceptive and her characters are very true to life.

If I'm in the mood for something a bit different, I read Eric Ambler's novels. He is probably forgotten nowadays and yet, in my opinion, he was a great thriller writer. I have just finished A Kind of Anger and I still admire his story-telling and the plot. The next Ambler on my list is The Nightcomers - I have the American version and the title the U.S. publisher used was State of Siege. Either way, it is another Ambler classic - the ordinary not very virtuous guy gets caught up in a situation which he has to find a way to deal with. An interesting thing for writers who like to learn from others is Ambler's use of smell to make a character even more sinister. In one of his thrillers, the bad guy's cologne smells of "attar of roses", those being the days when aftershave was not so much used, although I suppose if it were a modern story, any brand of cologne would be as effective. Somehow, this scent conveys a sense of menace which it is hard to define.

Currently, I have started re-reading The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsythe. Again, this is a masterpiece in suspense. I believe he had some difficulties in getting it published because everyone knows that Charles de Gaulle was not assassinated. However, the sheer skill of his writing and his background knowledge of international police workings interwoven with historical figures, has made this a classic.

If all that has not made me give up and put the quill back in the goose, I shall do some work on my current crime novel in the Sergeant Alan Murray series. I have been struggling with parts and problems of the plot but yesterday when I was out walking, something clicked into place and now I'm ready to roll up my sleeves and get going again.

To writers everywhere, I wish you inspiration and to readers, lots of fun reading those stories.

 What do you mean?

Some famous writer -I'm too lazy to look it up, but I think it was Ernest Hemingway - once said something like "never use a ten-dollar word when a one-cent one would do". He probably said it more elegantly but the meaning is the same. Most of my favourite authors write good, plain English. There are others - not my favourites - who search for what they reckon are admiration-inspiring long words that I have to look up to get the meaning of.

This aside, I am currently amused by the new expressions which have crept into our language. One of my favourites is "imposter syndrome". Now there's an idea. When the going gets tough at work and you're wondering if it was your best idea to take the job, you can put it all down to imposter syndrome. Does that make you feel better or worse? If it were me, I would feel worse. A syndrome?  Really? Just because the going is rough? Who thought that one up and spread it around like soft butter?

Another word I smile over is eclectic. Great if you play Scrabble. What happened to good old-fashioned "varied" or even easier to spell, "diverse"? They have the added attraction that they are easier to pronounce after a glass or two of savignon blanc. 

Then again, you won't be going to one of those parties where you trot out these terms, that is unless you are talking to the family pet.