Travis McGee, 3 chapters (or so) at a time
Why 3 chapters? That's about as much as I can read during my dinner break at work if I stretch my break out a bit -- John D. MacDonald's chapters are fairly long for an action-thriller these days. I hope it's also short enough that I'll take the time to read it on my weekends. I have a hard time settling down to read these days (as I've said in
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I *love* John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee series - they probably did as much to inform my developing sensibilities as a girl as any other of my major influences - Dickens, Lessing, Agatha Christie, Walt Kelly's "Pogo", S. J. Perelman, etc.
My Dad introduced to to them as a pre-teen - on a vacation, when I'd already run through my own books, my sister's books and my Mom's books. He said he wasn't sure if I'd like them; they were different from anything I'd read, but that he could vouch for them being at least interesting. I eventually read any he owned - maybe 8 or 9 of 'em - but lost interest in them at age 17 or so and never finished the series 'til years later.
In my 30's, a friend re-introduced me to them, and I was surprised to see how much I still liked them, and I understood aspects that I'd missed when I was younger - the whole "sexual healing" bit made more sense to me at that age ; >, and I ran through the entire Trav journey this time.
As a feminist, I occasionally wince at some things here and there - but honestly, for its time, they was pretty damn enlightened, and they actually *helped* me see the worth and power of strong, bright women at a time when male writers in general did not seem to favor writing appreciatively about the kickass female.
He's got some issues with gays, and some pretty fixed ideas about what it takes to be a man, but over the course of the series, Trav goes through some big changes, and by "Lonely Silver Man" in 1985, he is *not* the same guy we met at the beginning in "The Deep Blue Good-by" in 1964.
John D., using the voice of his creation Travis, was an environmentalist before it was cool, and for the equal rights of races and women at a time when the first was highly controversial here in the U.S., and the second hadn't even hit mainstream America.
I'm re-reading this series now along with Cabby, and will supply quotes that strike my fancy from each section as we go along.
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