Following in the footsteps of the Nerd

So a couple of nights back, the Nerd of Noir was on Twitter griping about NPR's top 5 mystery/crime releases for the summer. The Nerd posted a link, so out of curiosity (and being a former Californian tree hugging hippie who still occasionally listens to NPR on the commute to work.) I clicked on the link and took a looksee at the list and I've got to say, pretty weak considering the massive number of truly great titles that are coming out this summer. (There was only one book on the list that I'm actually reading at the moment--the Way Home by George Pellecanos, which I honestly don't qualify as an actual crime novel --the rest I can easily pass on or wait until they come out in paperback.Anyway, I voiced my opinion to the Nerd, agreeing whole heartedly that the list was a crock of

 shit and maybe he should think about putting one of his own together. The Nerd ran with it and put together one Hell of a top five summer reading list.

And then that got me thinking, why not put together a top five summer reads of my own?

First off though, here's a link to the Nerd's top 5.

And Now here's mine: 

1) Bury me Deep by Meagan Abbott

I've been a devoted follower of Ms. Abbott's novels since I devoured This Song is You in a two hour sitting a few years back. Her storylines are  sharp and original, her characters expertly drawn and realistic. Plus she's one of the few practitioner's of "retro" noir who actually get it right. 

There are no corny mid-20th century stereotypes in Ms. Abbott's 

novels, just great story telling.

2) Uncage Me edited by Jen Jordan

I recently commented to Jen Jordan that this anthology can pretty much be used as a bible to modern noir/hard-boiled writing. You pretty much get a taste of just about every current mover and shaker in the hard-boiled realm: From well established vets like Al Gutherie, Scott Phillips, and 

Christa Faust-to-up and comers like Patrick Shawn Bagley and Greg Bardsley. It's a great collection and I have yet to come acrossed a story in it that I've been disappointed with.

3) Dope Thief by Dennis Tofoya

This book by first time novelist Tofoya has been sucking up my lunch hour

 the past couple of days like an over friendly co-worker. The main difference is I don't want to smack the book in the face with a snow shovel to get it to shut up. This is down and dirty crime noir the way it's suppose to be done. There is no wasted language; the characters are believable and engaging. True, I'm only a hundred pages in, but this is quickly becoming my number one contender for novel of the year.

4) THUGLIT: sex, thugs, and rock & roll edited by Todd Robinson

What do I really need to say about this one? I love Thuglit and I'm more than happy to see the

 zine get the printed anthology treatment. Just like Uncage me, it's a great combo of established writer's and up-and-comers. It's been a fine, funny, brutal read so far and I love revisiting so many of these 

great stories and experiencing some for the first time.

5) BLOOD IS A ROVER by James Ellroy

Love him or hate him, Ellroy is a force of nature and I've been drooling for this follow up to the Cold Six Thousand for ten years now. This probably would have been my number one summer pick, but right now I'm holding a bit of a grudge against Ellroy because I recently found out Ellroy is charging bookstores a fifteen thousand dollar "appearance" fee. I know this is kind of petty of me, but, hell, I just know way too many novelists who pull money out of their own pockets to make bookstore appearances, so I'm a little 

pissed at the "Dawg" right now, I hope this changes once I've read the book.

So there you go.

As a post script to this little list, I know there are a ton more crime/mystery novels coming out this summer. Hell, we might as well call 2009 the summer of noir with all the books that are coming out. So if you don't like my picks, why not write up one of your own?

Okay, one more thing before I hit the sack. Here's yet another Twitter bulletin, this time coming from Craig MacDonald. It seems that champion power lifter and spaghetti  eater Charlie Stella has finally placed his novel, Johnny Porno, with the good folks at Stark House. Charlie was still working on the first draft of this book when he was out here in Phoenix last year and he was excited as hell about it and with good reason, the brief portions I was privileged enough to read were awesome and I'm jazzed that I now get to read the entire novel. The other cool thing is Johnny Porno will be the first original novel to be published by Stark house.

Anyway, folks, good night and have an awesome Friday