Top Ten Tuesdays is a blog activity hosted by The Broke And The Bookish
It's summer. And who says summer for readers, says beach books. Beach books are a very particular reading category. They have to comply to certain criterias. First, you have to be able to read them in uncomfortable places, which means it can't be too complicated. You also have to be able to read them while drunk, or at crazy hours of the morning after coming back from a wild limbo-dancing and carrot juice party. They can be very deep and moving, but they have to be straightforward both in language and story. They also need to be a lot of fun. I'm going to concentrate on books I'd like to read on a beach, but I am telling you, Hogdoggin' by Anthony Neil Smith is now on sales for ninety-nine cents on Kindle and it's going to slaughter the beach you're sitting on. You can pick it up here. Also, I'll read Infinite Jest this summer, but it's beside the point.
1-Jim Thompson - The Getaway: This book and me will SO have a romantic getaway this summer. Thompson's books have the advantage of being short and pack a mean punch. If you're looking to get through the summer reading pulp, you can probably plow through Thompson's whole catalogue and not feel like you've wasted your time.
2-James Ellroy - The Big Nowhere: It's an arbitrary choice, because it's the only L.A Quartet novel I haven't read yet. But the four novels of the quartet would be great to read on a beach, EXCEPT maybe White Jazz, which is more of a by-the-fireplace-in-December kind of deal. The Los Angeles of James Ellroy is a brutal, blood-soaked place where good people die in motel rooms.
3-Ozzy Osbourne & Chris Ayres - I Am Ozzy: If girly girls dream of being Carrie Bradshaw, wild, chaotic boys dream of being heavy metal gods. And the most decadent, over-the-top heavy metal god was (and to some point, still is) Ozzy Osbourne. The man terrorized hotel personel for decades and has been the source material for many urban legends. Probably the "thrashy" book I'm the most excited about reading this year.
4-Elmore Leonard - Swag: Leonard is a writer is DEFINITIVELY need to check out, but the title of this novel makes it a prime choice for sure. He has inspired a complete generation of crime writers with both his noir and western novels. But you know, "swag" being an awesome term, I'm curious what Elmore Leonard's definition of it is.
5-David Simon - Homicide: A Year On The Killing Street: Simon is the mastermind behind the best series to ever grace a television screen, The Wire. Ever been curious about how it shaped up into the biggest friggin' crime epic? I sure am. It all started with this 1992 true crime novel. It won the Edgar Award that same year. Simon has the Midas touch. Everything he touches seems to turn into gold.
6-George R. R. Martin - A Game Of Thrones Series: It's the hot thingie right now and the new one is coming out this July. Get on the bandwagon. I heard this one is bloody and intense. Josie raced through the four first tomes in five weeks this winter. FIVE WEEKS. You WILL never beat that, but you might get a kick out of Martin on a beach. It will make you look smart when you're watching the HBO series.
7-John Irving - The World According To Garp: If you want to LOOK serious on the beach, this is the novel for you. It IS serious, but John Irving is no acrobat of language. He's an old-school storyteller who's more than happy to give you a tremendous story without trying to choke you out with his themes. Irving writes long, thick books about unique characters.
8-Tucker Max - Assholes Finish First: Ladies, hate all you want and go back reading Twilight and Eat, Pray, Love. This is the male equivalent to chick lit. I can't remember another writer who got me on my all fours, laughing and trying to catch my breath. Is Tucker Max a terrible person? Of course he is. But you have to read his stories for his friend Sling Blade and for those crazy drunken stories.
9-David Morrell - First Blood: You might not be familiar with David Morrell or this book, but if I tell you the main character's name, you'll get it for sure. John Rambo. Yes, Rambo was a novel character before he massacred foreigners on the big screen. I have no idea how deep the novel is, but having Sylvester Stallone as a mental image for the character of Rambo will certainly help making it cooler.
10-Stephen Baxter - Voyage: I know, I know, this is out of print. But I could read about people colonizing the solar system for three months, with sun, sand and corona. Space cowboys are almost as good as real cowboys to me. You have to have balls to go colonize Mars and the moons of Saturn.