RIP Dick Francis

I was saddened to read today that one of my favourite authors, Dick Francis, had passed away at the ripe old age of 89. A former jockey who turned to writing after retiring in the 1950s, he has written many books, most of which revolve around racing. He had won numerous awards during his career, and over the last few years had actually started writing with his son, Felix. I’ve been a fan of his books since the 1980s, and it is all because of my father. He was a big Readers Digest fan, and during the 1980s, RD started offering leather bound books that contained condensed versions of 3 or 4 novels that were written by different authors. As an avid reader, that is where I discovered the late, great Dick Francis.

When I grew older and discovered bookshops (both new and used), I started buying more and more books, and will honestly admit to being a big fan. For at least the past 10 years, I have been buying every new piece of fiction that he has published, and I have never regretted it! From what I have read, he has another one coming out this year, but that will be the last one – unless of course his son decides to follow in his footsteps and publish more – then I would give him the benefit of the doubt and try a couple. Unfortunately, once an author dies, it is difficult for someone to continue. An example is Erik Van Lustbader taking over from Robert Ludlum for the Jason Bourne series. I bought the first one that he had published, but it just wasn’t up to the level that I expected from a Ludlum Jason Bourne title. Not that I don’t like Van Lustbader – I do! It just wasn’t Ludlum.

Anyway, I just wanted to thank Dick Francis for giving me many hours of reading pleasure. You will be missed!

As for a song, well, I am going to give you one by REM. I saw a MTV Live concert today which featured them playing in Milan in 2008. It was a really good performance, so here is a live performance of REM singing (what I consider to be) their signature tune, Losing My Religion.

Peace!