Ed Lynskey's Blog: Cracked Rearview Mirror - Posts Tagged "must-reads"

As I've grown older, I tend to shy away more from the doorstopper novels. You know, the books running 400 or even more pages. Epics, some readers call them. On occasion, I still enjoy the longer story. After all, a few yarns just take longer to tell (Girl With the Dragon Tattoo was my last one, a sweet read, BTW).

But my ideal book length clocks in at between 225 and 250 pages. That works out to 60-75,000 words. Authors will pad their books to reach a predetermined length. In 1950 the Gold Medal Books published by Fawcett established the paperback original (PBO) and made a ton of money off of selling the PBOs for 25 cents. Sort of like the Kindle versions today sold for 99 cents. The Gold Medals are sought out by today's readers because the tales are streamlined, snappy, and edgy gems.

At any rate, I have to admit when I'm selecting new titles at the library or bookstore (I still don't Kindle) to test out, the page or word count is one criterion I use.

Do you care how long a book is before reading it?


@edlynskey
Ed Lynskey

This question occurred to me while I was jogging this a.m. I tried think of how I decide what I'm going to read next (for fun) from my TBR pile.

Movies like True Grit, The Lincoln Lawyer, and The Postman Always Rings Twice have spurred me to go check out their books. Usually I'm not disappointed.

Library displays catch my eye. Blogs can be helpful. There are so many good ones now.

My wife sometimes steers me to gems I'd otherwise overlook, or what turkeys to avoid. Maybe surprisingly (I write reviews), book reviews don't influence me very much. Ditto for the author dustjacket blurbs. Bestsellers don't impress me probably because I seldom, if ever, read them.

Brand loyalty has its impact. If I like an author in the past, I'll go on to read other titles. Series pose a special problem in that they're hard to keep fresh and crisp. Bill Pronzini's Nameless Detective is one series I've been reading for almost a decade. The same deal goes for Sue Grafton's Alphabet series.

As a history major and buff, I like to gravitate to the books written about or during the past. Nonfiction books don't generally appeal to me. I don't like reading of other people's real pain and angst. It's better when it's made up.

Ed Lynskey
@edlynskey
Author of Lake Charles and Quiet Anchorage

Do you have a few book titles in mind as "must-reads" you'll get around to knocking out some day? Me, too. Lately though, I've blocked out the time to scratch a few titles off my must-read list.

One such classic is One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1962) penned by the Merry Prankster leader, Ken Kesey. Par for the course, I saw the terrific film at the theater when it came out in 1975. A young, fit Jack Nicholson chewed the scenery as the indomitable R.P. McMurphy. I figured back then, oh sure, I'll check out the novel.

Around the same time, I read an excerpt of Cuckoo's Nest from an anthology in a creative writing class I was taking. I liked the excerpt, but again I was too lazy or something to find and read the book.

While in Bermuda, I bought a U.K. edition of Demon Box and sent a letter to Mr. Kesey asking if he'd consider inscribing it. He generously agreed, and he even dedicated a line from the novel to me: "She told me the razor blade is heavier than the book of Job, and a brass madonna." Yep, it was from page 269. Is that cool beans, awesome to the max, or just what?

At any rate, I've read Cuckoo's Nest, and it's top-notch. Wonderful prose with its addictive surrealism. Chief Broom is an original narrator with a distinctive voice.

I'm rechecking my must-read list again for the other classics I've been putting off for too long.

By Ed Lynskey
Twitter: @edlynskey
Author of Lake Charles
"Nice addition to anyone’s summer beach reading schedule."
Florida Times-Union

The short answer is because it's the first genre I read as a kid. You alway fall the hardest for your first love. I devoured books on the Hardy boys, the Three Investigators, the Happy Hollisters, though I never became Nancy Drew fan. I don't remember why. She was always trim and attractive on the front covers.

Conflict always makes for the best plots, and crime fiction has all that and more. Plus there are a lot of top-notch titles getting published right now. Stuart Neville is one author to watch. Plus my old standbys like Bill Pronzini and Ed Gorman are going stronger than ever. I'm itching to dive into Stieg Larsson's The Girl Who Played With Fire. But this blog is about the why, not the who.

Look, when I start a good crime fiction title, and get wrapped up in it, the time just flies by. That's when I'm transported. And that's where every reader yearns to be. I just finished up the new George Pelecanos title The Cut and I had to chill out for a bit before trying to fall asleep. Wow. My heart pounded, my blood raced. I kid you not. So, what better reason do I cite for why I read crime fiction?

Happy reading to you and yours!

By Ed Lynskey
Twitter: @edlynskey
Author of Lake Charles
"Definitely recommend you take a fictional journey to Lake Charles."
Elizabeth A. White's Musings of an All Purpose Monkey

I'm not sure I know just why I do. I started out by writing in several genres, but the past few years have seen my writing funneled almost exclusively to crime fiction. I can put my finger on a few things. The conflict of good v. evil in the world intrigues me.

I like to root for the good guy or the underdog. I like to believe at least in the possibility of redemption. I like how the bad guy gets his comeuppance or just desserts. I like how ordinary people do extraordinary feats when the chips are down.

But most of all, I'm relieved, even grateful, the crime I write about only exists in the fictional world of my creation. If that makes me a big liar, I can live with that sin okay enough.

By Ed Lynskey
Twitter: @edlynskey
Author of Ask the Dice , a hit man crime novel set in Washington, D.C.