John Updike and John Grisham

American literary giant John Updike died this week. It was a sad day for anyone who loves good, thoughtful literary prose. Updike was a prolific writer with a natural talent seen rarely except a couple of times in each generation. His Rabbitt series, first published more than 50 years ago, inspired a generation of writers.

But he was not loved by everyone, which isn't surprising. Who is? A British group awarded him a lifetime achievement award for bad writing. And Normal Mailer, apparently, opined that he was an author appreciated by readers who knew nothing about writing. Well, Mr. Mailer, I hate to inform you but most readers don't know anything about writing.

But I was listening to NPR last week to an Updike interview in which he laments the decline of literary fiction in America. It's true, of course, that readers today more likely look to James Patterson than to John Updike, or Sandra Brown instead of Alice Walker. But I think in the big world of books, there is more than enough room for literary fiction and commercial fiction.

And speaking of commercial fiction, John Grisham's new book,"The Associate," came out this week, just days after Updike's death. No one would confuse Grisham with a literary author. It's not. He's a commercial fiction author. But his books are readable and fun and enjoyable. So what's wrong with that?

I read the first couple of chapters of the book on Grisham's website before it was officially published. It seemed interesting in just the sort of way I enjoy.

A friend who lives near Grisham in Virginia thinks he is a hack. But both she and her husband are snobs in so many ways. So I am sure she won't like my novels because I am far more like Grisham than Updike.

I like to write. I don't apologize for it. But I am not a deep, deep thinker. It's just not who I am. So I don't have the talent to sit with the giants of American literature. But does that mean I shouldn't write? No, I don't think that at all. A writer is one who writes. And from it all, we just have to wait for the great ones, like Updike, to emerge.

Thanks for reading and don't give up on writing.