About 18 years ago, my father and I were discussing what we were reading at the moment, and he told me about the book he was just finishing; The Falls, by Ian Rankin.
Trading books and discussing authors was nothing new in our family, as all of us are avid readers. But, this particular story grabbed me immediately, and I was delighted not only to read another great book, but also to discover that there were several more books about the main character, a detective based in Edinburgh. In fact, this was the 12th book involving John Rebus.
At the time, my father was still traveling on business, so tended to pick up whatever struck his fancy at the airport news shop. The Falls was his first experience with the author, so he was excited to know that there were more books to read. My sister in Spain jumped quickly on board; she, too, was always on the lookout for a new good read.
This little discovery might seem insignificant, but over the next months as I back tracked and started reading the books in order, I realized just how strong the writing was. To me, it was true literature, and it was quite a good feeling to find another author putting out quality material. All too often in recent years I had been let down. With this series, that is not the case.
I was personally trying to find an opportunity to move abroad during this period, so was really trying hard not to get in a habit of collecting stuff that would not be so easy to move. This included books and CDs. I allowed myself to be selective, and fortunately assembled my little collection of the first 12 John Rebus novels. It was not long before Chris got into the spirit, and I was happy to loan him stuff from my Rankin library as he got caught up in the series.
Over the next several years, a few more books came out and we tended to include this as one of many discussion topics during our weekly Wednesday evenings at the Monk. Pablo even got a bit intrigued, which was initially surprising. He reads a lot, also, but often was more inclined to read periodicals as opposed to novels.
When I left Dallas for Spain, I left behind my little library of Ian Rankin. There was no way I was going to give that up. Instead, it would have to remain in storage until the time came when I had sufficient space for my books. Of course, this did not stop me buying a few of the books translated into Spanish; what better way to continue improving my Spanish learning than by reading books from a favorite author?
Meanwhile, the little fan base that I had started back in Dallas continued. In early 2007, I got a message from Chris indicating that he had met Ian Rankin at a book signing. Sure, I was a bit envious, but receiving an autographed book a couple of months later with a personal "keep up the missionary work!" message meant the world to me. I was still not sure if I was in Germany to stay, but I certainly realized that I needed to get all the books back on my shelves. Rather than pay to ship my books from the states, I ended up visiting my local English language bookshop in Frankfurt to get a second set of the novels.
Over the past decade, I have eagerly read (and re-read, as it were) the works of Ian Rankin. In fact, I am proud to say that this is the first author where I have read the works not only in English, but also Spanish AND German. Several friends here are also fans, and a couple have even visited Edinburgh and peeked in the Oxford Bar. I am always glad when I see one of the books sitting on the shelf in the little neighborhood public library bookcase that sits out on the street in front of my flat.
Last month, I received a message from Chris indicating that he had already ordered his copy of the latest John Rebus. I made a mental note to check at the local bookshop during my visit to the states, and sure enough, after my inquiry at the Barnes and Nobel desk, I was informed that the new novel would not be available for another couple of weeks. This explained why Chris had to pre-order his copy.
As I was leaving Dallas to return home, last Thursday, Pablo sent me a quick message of new years greeting, along with confirmation that he had just received his copy of the book. The following day, Chris sent me a similar message, showing me that his copy had just arrived.
30 seconds later, I had ordered my own copy, which arrived this past Monday. Like always, I tried to savor the moment before launching in to the read. That pretty much meant I lasted until Tuesday morning before starting. It came as no surprise that it is another page-turner. Thoroughly enjoyable to read, and it has helped get my 2019 off to a good start.
There are few things better than reading a good book. Thanks, Mr Rankin.
see you out there
bryan
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