Not So Lazy

I suppose if one were looking for a model of creative productivity, the complete opposite of my own desultory laziness as a reader (and as a sort of very, very, very minor writer) one wouldn't need to look much further than the extraordinary Stephen King. It goes without saying that his literary output has been astonishing in its sustained excellence over so many years - or possibly it does need saying given his many detractors. Yes, much of his fiction is formulaic, but what a formula. And how rarely does it become tiresomely formulaic.

But he's also a prolific reader, as was made clear as early as Dance Macabre, his hugely enjoyable foray into writing about horror fiction as opposed to simply just writing it. I was reminded of this today when I came across an intriguing list of his ten favourite novels at the ever-excellent Open Culture. To my surprise not only had I not read, I'd not even heard of three of the books on the list. Which means my must-read-at-some-point-in-the-near-future list has just been extended to accommodate these since the horror-meister is rarely mistaken in his choices. (By the way, I have no intention of telling which three of the ten I'm referring to, Gentle Reader. I leave that for you to guess.)