Lately I have been populating my "nicer" book collection. These are leather bound volumes that I keep on a separate shelf in the extra bedroom. My usual technique for acquiring books for this shelf is to peruse ebay and scoop up bargains when I see them. I recently snagged three Louis L'Amour leather bound westerns from the Bantam Louis L'Amor collection from the early 80's. Well technically I guess they are leatherette, but still! I got three of these L'Amor westerns for under ten dollars total which included shipping, so I was happy. The thing is, I have never read a western before in my life (and I am pretty old). I had, of course, heard of Louis L'Amor before, so I know there are many people out there who love his books. I had not planned on reading any westerns anytime soon, but the more I looked at them sitting on the bookshelf, the more I became curious. Curiosity turned into a craving and so, last night, I dived into one! I chose Flint, purely at random (out of the three I own). I am a few chapters in this morning and so far I can say I am diggin' it. This will sound chauvinistic probably, but it feels like a man-book. It appeals to me in much the same way as Hemingway's works did. It's gritty and everything seems pretty much life or death so far. I will keep you updated on my progress, but if you are reading this, let me know if have read westerns before and if so, how did you like them? Giddy up!