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Generally Speaking: All 33 columns, plus a few philatelic words from Keller
For almost three years, novelist and short-story writer Lawrence Block’s monthly column, “Generally Speaking,” was one of the most popular features in Linn’s Stamp News. A general collector of pre-1940 issues, Block had the entire world of stamps as his subject, and he turned in 33 columns before he decided it was time to stop. But Keller, the author’s fictional character, never lost his enthusiasm for philately. A wistful and introspective killer for hire, Keller rekindled a boyhood passion for stamps at the end of Hit Man, the first of a series of books about him. Like Block, Keller collects the whole world through philately’s first century. (How’s that for coincidence?) And the nature of his profession gives Keller more discretionary income than Block—and a lot more money to spend on stamps. Published here for the first time is the full run of columns from Linn’s, along with six selections from the Keller saga chosen for their philatelic perspective.
- GenresNonfiction
Kindle Edition
First published December 23, 2011
About the author
Lawrence Block
744 books3,025 followersLawrence Block has been writing crime, mystery, and suspense fiction for more than half a century. He has published in excess (oh, wretched excess!) of 100 books, and no end of short stories.
Born in Buffalo, N.Y., LB attended Antioch College, but left before completing his studies; school authorities advised him that they felt he’d be happier elsewhere, and he thought this was remarkably perceptive of them.
His earliest work, published pseudonymously in the late 1950s, was mostly in the field of midcentury erotica, an apprenticeship he shared with Donald E. Westlake and Robert Silverberg. The first time Lawrence Block’s name appeared in print was when his short story “You Can’t Lose” was published in the February 1958 issue of Manhunt. The first book published under his own name was Mona (1961); it was reissued several times over the years, once as Sweet Slow Death. In 2005 it became the first offering from Hard Case Crime, and bore for the first time LB’s original title, Grifter’s Game.
LB is best known for his series characters, including cop-turned-private investigator Matthew Scudder, gentleman burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr, globe-trotting insomniac Evan Tanner, and introspective assassin Keller.
Because one name is never enough, LB has also published under pseudonyms including Jill Emerson, John Warren Wells, Lesley Evans, and Anne Campbell Clarke.
LB’s magazine appearances include American Heritage, Redbook, Playboy, Linn’s Stamp News, Cosmopolitan, GQ, and The New York Times. His monthly instructional column ran in Writer’s Digest for 14 years, and led to a string of books for writers, including the classics Telling Lies for Fun & Profit and The Liar’s Bible. He has also written episodic television (Tilt!) and the Wong Kar-wai film, My Blueberry Nights.
Several of LB’s books have been filmed. The latest, A Walk Among the Tombstones, stars Liam Neeson as Matthew Scudder and is scheduled for release in September, 2014.
LB is a Grand Master of Mystery Writers of America, and a past president of MWA and the Private Eye Writers of America. He has won the Edgar and Shamus awards four times each, and the Japanese Maltese Falcon award twice, as well as the Nero Wolfe and Philip Marlowe awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Private Eye Writers of America, and the Diamond Dagger for Life Achievement from the Crime Writers Association (UK). He’s also been honored with the Gumshoe Lifetime Achievement Award from Mystery Ink magazine and the Edward D. Hoch Memorial Golden Derringer for Lifetime Achievement in the short story. In France, he has been proclaimed a Grand Maitre du Roman Noir and has twice been awarded the Societe 813 trophy. He has been a guest of honor at Bouchercon and at book fairs and mystery festivals in France, Germany, Australia, Italy, New Zealand, Spain and Taiwan. As if that were not enough, he was also presented with the key to the city of Muncie, Indiana. (But as soon as he left, they changed the locks.)
LB and his wife Lynne are enthusiastic New Yorkers and relentless world travelers; the two are members of the Travelers Century Club, and have visited around 160 countries.
He is a modest and humble fellow, although you would never guess as much from this biographical note.
Born in Buffalo, N.Y., LB attended Antioch College, but left before completing his studies; school authorities advised him that they felt he’d be happier elsewhere, and he thought this was remarkably perceptive of them.
His earliest work, published pseudonymously in the late 1950s, was mostly in the field of midcentury erotica, an apprenticeship he shared with Donald E. Westlake and Robert Silverberg. The first time Lawrence Block’s name appeared in print was when his short story “You Can’t Lose” was published in the February 1958 issue of Manhunt. The first book published under his own name was Mona (1961); it was reissued several times over the years, once as Sweet Slow Death. In 2005 it became the first offering from Hard Case Crime, and bore for the first time LB’s original title, Grifter’s Game.
LB is best known for his series characters, including cop-turned-private investigator Matthew Scudder, gentleman burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr, globe-trotting insomniac Evan Tanner, and introspective assassin Keller.
Because one name is never enough, LB has also published under pseudonyms including Jill Emerson, John Warren Wells, Lesley Evans, and Anne Campbell Clarke.
LB’s magazine appearances include American Heritage, Redbook, Playboy, Linn’s Stamp News, Cosmopolitan, GQ, and The New York Times. His monthly instructional column ran in Writer’s Digest for 14 years, and led to a string of books for writers, including the classics Telling Lies for Fun & Profit and The Liar’s Bible. He has also written episodic television (Tilt!) and the Wong Kar-wai film, My Blueberry Nights.
Several of LB’s books have been filmed. The latest, A Walk Among the Tombstones, stars Liam Neeson as Matthew Scudder and is scheduled for release in September, 2014.
LB is a Grand Master of Mystery Writers of America, and a past president of MWA and the Private Eye Writers of America. He has won the Edgar and Shamus awards four times each, and the Japanese Maltese Falcon award twice, as well as the Nero Wolfe and Philip Marlowe awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Private Eye Writers of America, and the Diamond Dagger for Life Achievement from the Crime Writers Association (UK). He’s also been honored with the Gumshoe Lifetime Achievement Award from Mystery Ink magazine and the Edward D. Hoch Memorial Golden Derringer for Lifetime Achievement in the short story. In France, he has been proclaimed a Grand Maitre du Roman Noir and has twice been awarded the Societe 813 trophy. He has been a guest of honor at Bouchercon and at book fairs and mystery festivals in France, Germany, Australia, Italy, New Zealand, Spain and Taiwan. As if that were not enough, he was also presented with the key to the city of Muncie, Indiana. (But as soon as he left, they changed the locks.)
LB and his wife Lynne are enthusiastic New Yorkers and relentless world travelers; the two are members of the Travelers Century Club, and have visited around 160 countries.
He is a modest and humble fellow, although you would never guess as much from this biographical note.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 31, 2016
Probably a book of interest only to those engrossed in stamp collecting. Lawrence Block, himself, is quite a collector and that’s reflected in his Keller stories which have his hitman protagonist endearingly looking for and buying stamps for his collection.
Block got his start in writing supplying a column for a numismatic magazine, interestingly, but I don’t believe he was ever bitten by that bug. His ruminations on the advantages of stamp collecting; inexpensive or costly, requires little physical labor or space, either generalist or specialist, and moderately intellectual, not to mention they don’t have to be walked, all ring quite true.
The book consists of a series of essays that Block wrote for Linn’s Stamp magazine and they became one of its most read features. Being a collector and liking Block’s writing, I enjoyed them very much.
Block got his start in writing supplying a column for a numismatic magazine, interestingly, but I don’t believe he was ever bitten by that bug. His ruminations on the advantages of stamp collecting; inexpensive or costly, requires little physical labor or space, either generalist or specialist, and moderately intellectual, not to mention they don’t have to be walked, all ring quite true.
The book consists of a series of essays that Block wrote for Linn’s Stamp magazine and they became one of its most read features. Being a collector and liking Block’s writing, I enjoyed them very much.
January 23, 2020
Really, a book that is a collection of columns from "Linn's Stamp News, made really interesting by a really good writer.
October 2, 2022
This book is a compendium of columns that mystery writer Lawrence Block created for Linn's Stamp News in the 2010s, supplemented by some excerpts from his Hit Man books, a crime series featuring a paid killer whose hobby is collecting stamps.
The excerpts are all delightful and I enjoyed reading them: they show how even the last person you'd expect to have an esoteric hobby like philately can engage lovingly and thoughtfully in such a pursuit. I particularly enjoyed the piece in which he explains how stealing money to pay for hotel rooms and transportation is different from stealing money from a small business such as a stamp dealer.
Much as I liked reading these, I still have qualms about reading books whose hero is a hit man, so at the moment Block didn't gain me as a reader for this batch of novels.
The columns themselves fall into two distinct groupings. The early pieces are exceptional. They capture perfectly what it means to be a collector (specifically of stamps, but it's easy to generalize to the more common concept of collecting anything). Block totally nails why collecting matters, why it's fun and engaging, and why whatever rules may be laid down by the hobby's powers-that-be are meant to be broken. I'm more of a data collector than a stamp collector but I felt totally understood as I read these essays. And the quality of the writing is wonderful.
The second half of the book is a bit of a letdown. It was obvious to me that Block ran of steam: the ideas about his hobby that he was passionate about were already covered in the early columns, and for these later pieces he fell back on exploring the kinds of subjects that are widely discussed in the stamp collecting literature. He also adopted a classroom format that may have felt fun when you read it once per month but which quickly wore on me reading the essays in quick succession.
Nonetheless, I highly recommend the book to stamp collectors for the enthusiastic insights it contains. As these old magazines are not particularly available, it's nice to have these columns collected in this way for posterity.
The excerpts are all delightful and I enjoyed reading them: they show how even the last person you'd expect to have an esoteric hobby like philately can engage lovingly and thoughtfully in such a pursuit. I particularly enjoyed the piece in which he explains how stealing money to pay for hotel rooms and transportation is different from stealing money from a small business such as a stamp dealer.
Much as I liked reading these, I still have qualms about reading books whose hero is a hit man, so at the moment Block didn't gain me as a reader for this batch of novels.
The columns themselves fall into two distinct groupings. The early pieces are exceptional. They capture perfectly what it means to be a collector (specifically of stamps, but it's easy to generalize to the more common concept of collecting anything). Block totally nails why collecting matters, why it's fun and engaging, and why whatever rules may be laid down by the hobby's powers-that-be are meant to be broken. I'm more of a data collector than a stamp collector but I felt totally understood as I read these essays. And the quality of the writing is wonderful.
The second half of the book is a bit of a letdown. It was obvious to me that Block ran of steam: the ideas about his hobby that he was passionate about were already covered in the early columns, and for these later pieces he fell back on exploring the kinds of subjects that are widely discussed in the stamp collecting literature. He also adopted a classroom format that may have felt fun when you read it once per month but which quickly wore on me reading the essays in quick succession.
Nonetheless, I highly recommend the book to stamp collectors for the enthusiastic insights it contains. As these old magazines are not particularly available, it's nice to have these columns collected in this way for posterity.
March 1, 2026
I had a bit of a mixed experience with this one. On one hand, I loved how relaxed the tone is. It touches on those universal 'collector problems' that we all face, and even though I’m not a generalist collector, I found myself nodding along and totally identifying with the author. The language is super accessible too, so you don’t need to be a philatelic expert to enjoy the first half.
However, things got a bit weird halfway through. The book suddenly shifts into this 'classroom' style with dialogues between a student and a teacher, and honestly? It just didn't work for me. It broke my flow and made me lose interest. Also, a quick heads-up for e-book readers: there are barely any images. It’s pretty hard to visualize what they're talking about when you're just looking at walls of text in a hobby that is so visual.
In the end, I’m giving it 4 stars because the subject itself is just so interesting and relatable. But if I’m being honest about the writing and the structure, it’s more of a 3. Worth a read if you love stamps, but be prepared for the dip in the middle!
However, things got a bit weird halfway through. The book suddenly shifts into this 'classroom' style with dialogues between a student and a teacher, and honestly? It just didn't work for me. It broke my flow and made me lose interest. Also, a quick heads-up for e-book readers: there are barely any images. It’s pretty hard to visualize what they're talking about when you're just looking at walls of text in a hobby that is so visual.
In the end, I’m giving it 4 stars because the subject itself is just so interesting and relatable. But if I’m being honest about the writing and the structure, it’s more of a 3. Worth a read if you love stamps, but be prepared for the dip in the middle!
October 20, 2020
This is an expanded and newly re-subtitled edition of the 2011 ebook Generally Speaking: A Philatelic Patchwork. I read the 1st edition several years ago; this is a review of the audiobook version of the new reissue:
I briefly collected stamps in junior high school (about 32 years ago). My interest did not last, probably because I wasn't wise enough at that age to let my fondness for the stamps prod me into studying the geography or history of the nations from which they came. But even if I never return to the hobby, this book was both interesting and educational, as I never knew philately could be such a nuanced and sophisticated endeavor. Block lays bare the quirks, obsessions, and foibles of serious collectors with a practiced wit and keen eye for detail.
Lawrence Block's writing reminds me of Isaac Asimov. He can make any topic seem fascinating, even if it's not something that would normally interest me. A few hours with Lawrence Block can feel sort of like a conversation with a brilliant, but slightly off kilter, uncle you never knew you had.
This 2019 reissue includes seven additional columns that Lawrence Block wrote for Linn's Stamp News, as well as five philatelic-themed excerpts from his John Keller novels. I enjoyed the new columns, but the excerpts perplexed me; they were certainly not the most interesting scenes from the Keller series.
I briefly collected stamps in junior high school (about 32 years ago). My interest did not last, probably because I wasn't wise enough at that age to let my fondness for the stamps prod me into studying the geography or history of the nations from which they came. But even if I never return to the hobby, this book was both interesting and educational, as I never knew philately could be such a nuanced and sophisticated endeavor. Block lays bare the quirks, obsessions, and foibles of serious collectors with a practiced wit and keen eye for detail.
Lawrence Block's writing reminds me of Isaac Asimov. He can make any topic seem fascinating, even if it's not something that would normally interest me. A few hours with Lawrence Block can feel sort of like a conversation with a brilliant, but slightly off kilter, uncle you never knew you had.
This 2019 reissue includes seven additional columns that Lawrence Block wrote for Linn's Stamp News, as well as five philatelic-themed excerpts from his John Keller novels. I enjoyed the new columns, but the excerpts perplexed me; they were certainly not the most interesting scenes from the Keller series.
March 19, 2012
I briefly collected stamps in junior high school (about 23 years ago). My interest did not last, probably because I wasn't wise enough at that age to let my fondness for the stamps prod me into studying the geography or history of the nations from which they came.
But even if I never return to the hobby, this book was both interesting and educational, as I never knew philately could be such a nuanced and sophisticated endeavour. Block lays bare the quirks, obsessions, and foibles of serious collectors with a practiced wit and keen eye for detail.
Lawrence Block's writing reminds me a lot Isaac Asimov. He can make any topic seem fascinating, even if it's not something that would normally interest me. A few hours with Lawrence Block can feel sort of like a conversation with a brilliant, but slightly off kilter, uncle you never knew you had.
But even if I never return to the hobby, this book was both interesting and educational, as I never knew philately could be such a nuanced and sophisticated endeavour. Block lays bare the quirks, obsessions, and foibles of serious collectors with a practiced wit and keen eye for detail.
Lawrence Block's writing reminds me a lot Isaac Asimov. He can make any topic seem fascinating, even if it's not something that would normally interest me. A few hours with Lawrence Block can feel sort of like a conversation with a brilliant, but slightly off kilter, uncle you never knew you had.
January 11, 2012
This book goes to show that I'd like to read just about anything Lawrence Block would care to write.
I loved it. I don't actually have any interest (or knowledge) of stamp collecting, but I appreciated the quality of the writing and enjoyed Block's ramblings.
A satisfying, light, low-commitment read.
I do wish the economics of publishing ebooks from retirement would allow more professional support. I felt I missed something in the eBook not including images that accompanied the original columns, and while Linn's did a good job editing it, there were some minor its vs it's kind of glitches that I wish a better editing pass would have resolved.
I loved it. I don't actually have any interest (or knowledge) of stamp collecting, but I appreciated the quality of the writing and enjoyed Block's ramblings.
A satisfying, light, low-commitment read.
I do wish the economics of publishing ebooks from retirement would allow more professional support. I felt I missed something in the eBook not including images that accompanied the original columns, and while Linn's did a good job editing it, there were some minor its vs it's kind of glitches that I wish a better editing pass would have resolved.
August 29, 2012
Funny, offbeat humor about stamps collectingand those who collect stamps, yet extremely informative. This is a collection of articles that Lawrence Block has written in Linn's Stamp News, filled with useful information to help enjoy and even make decisions about your stamp collecting habits. I often pull out my nook and find another article to re-read. Don't forget to read the Keller series, by Block, about an assassin for hire who becomes an avid stamp collector so much so that it consumes some of his assignments.
January 4, 2015
And a bit too philatelic it was, well for me at least. Some funny and interesting moments along the way (a story about a dead cat is a gem) but this really is for the dedicated stamp collector.
October 28, 2022
Love his books. These writings on stamps are delightful.
An enjoyble read
An enjoyble read
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews