It takes a certain writing talent to be able to churn out multiple books that people will actually read. It’s one thing to have one popular book, but to have someone read three or four of your titles means you’re doing something right.

If you have been paying attention to the book blogs, you certainly know John Steinbeck is high on my list. Raymond Chandler is an author I know won’t disappoint me with his tales of hard-boiled detective Philip Marlowe.

I was first introduced to Chandler in a college English class. It was one of those courses that at the time seemed unduly difficult but looking back is just the type of educational challenge I wouldn’t mind revisiting. Each of our major papers in the class was preceded by two or three smaller thought writings that all led into the bigger effort. We had to meet with the professor and basically discuss our thoughts and arguments for the papers before and after we wrote them.

One of the professor’s favorite things to say was, “yes, but what are the implications of that?” It wasn’t enough to have a thesis and an argument to support it — you had to explore what followed from that argument.

Chandler’s “The Long Goodbye” was a major part of the theme we explored that semester: The Jewish detective novel. If you are a fan of Jack Bauer or Don Draper, then Philip Marlowe is the detective for you. He has the no-nonsense, anything-for-justice streak of Bauer and the suave, crisp style and mannerism of Draper.

Because of the genre I won’t reveal any of the plot of this one, but do have two notes. First, I have to mention the use of the word “weisenheimer,” which is massively underrated in our language. The second is an excerpt that gives a bit of an insight into Chandler’s writing style (Marlowe is narrating):

“She put my card beside a pile of freshly type letterheads. She leaned back and put one arm on the desk and tapped lightly with a small gold pencil. I grinned at her. The little blonde at the PBX cocked a shell-like ear and smiled a small fluffy smile. She looked playful and eager, but not quite sure of herself, like a new kitten in a house where they don’t care much about kittens.”

Now that’s a description you don’t hear very often.

The problem for me is that I am nearly at the end of Chandler’s collection. I think there are only three or four of his books that I haven’t yet read and mystery novels are not as re-readable as other genres. Fortunately, Barnes & Noble seems to have other books available, and there’s also this Internet thing I have been hearing about that may offer some other titles.