The Black Marks on Wood Pulp’s Tribute to Great Writers Week begins!

Well, this is it. A week long list fest, filled to the gills with everyone’s favorite writers. Call it Black Marks on Wood Pulp’s Tribute to Great Writers Week.

That has a very long-winded ring to it.

This all started with my attempt in making a list of the top 25 writers that have contributed to my life – the writers that have inspired me, or entertained me, or sent me down a spiraling path of constant career changes. And throughout the week, five writers at a time, they will be revealed, right down to the top five this coming Friday.

I’ve also asked my friends, family, and fellow bloggers to help out. You’ll have the pleasure of reading their selections as well in four separate posts. Two posts will feature the lists of my friends, families, and general acquaintances. Two more will feature the selections from some of my favorite authors.

This is all in honor of the upcoming South Dakota Festival of Books. I’ll be there all weekend, but I wanted to drag the literary-mania out a few extra days.

If I’ve learned anything, it’s that it might be impossible to find someone with exactly the same taste as you in the written word. There are always some constants – Steinbeck, Vonnegut, King. But there are just as many that I’ve never read – never even heard of, personally – and have quickly written down as future purchases.

I’m a young reader. After tapering my reading off during college (thanks to a whole mountain-load of textbooks) it took me a while to get things going again. I find myself fighting to catch up while frantically trying to stay current. Jonathan Franzen? Or Dostoyevsky? Zadie Smith? Or Hemmingway?

It’s maddening.

Welcome to the celebration. It’ll be under way in just a few hours.