Summer Reading Continues & Your Must Read of the Week

It's the height of reading season, based on the opinion of the Authors Speak.  Many bemoan the heat wave and lack of holiday gift giving as a drought for books.  I don't.  I think of this season to be the bees knees of reading.  Holding a book and reading is the perfect partner for margaritas and hammocks and beaches.  It just works.

And, as always, we'll try and steer you towards some books that are not going to be found on your normal reading list.

As mentioned yesterday, Garrett Cook has infiltrated the Authors Speak this week (apparently someone had a little too much free time over the holiday weekend).  So, today, we offer you four books to add to your Summer Reading List and, as a bonus, your MUST READ OF THE WEEK returns.

Remember the Book-It Program, or am I dating myself?  Book-It was this program for summer reading when I was in school.  You got a little star for every book you read and for every five stars you got a free personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut.  No wonder I was a chubby little kid.  Oy!  Well, there are five books here and if you read them all and review them on amazon - or email us your review - I'll buy you a pizza.  No joke.  Read, review, and be amazed.

As always, click on any of the pictures to be delivered directly to Amazon.com to order.

Summer Reading with Garrett Cook:

The Magazine of Bizarro Fiction (Issue One).  The quarterly magazine displays a wide variety of talent - both storytelling and artwork.  This first issue featured the work of such notable names as Anderson Prunty and Jordan Krall, but it also featured a story by Garrett Cook.  This is story is of note, as it would introduce the world to Jimmy Plush, teddy-bear detective.  A teddy bear detective?  That's right.  Talk about taking the noir game up a notch!  It was inevitable that Jimmy Plush would become a franchise (Eraserhead Press is currently prepping to release the Jimmy Plush novel this year), because it's that good...and how many mystery-solving child's toys do you know of?  At $6.95, this is a worthy investment.  Issues two and three are also available.

Murderland Part 1-H8.  It's kind of like Natural Born Killers, but not quite.  Murderland imagines a future society that praises serial killers.  Think of the type of attention that ilk like Lindsay Lohan and Heidi Montag recieve and imagine our world devoting that love and affection towards Jeffrey Dahmer.  This is a glimpse into the twisted world of Garrett's brain.  What's compelling about this read is the humor level.  Yes, there's gore and twisted violence.  But, there's an emotional chord that runs through the narrative and forces giggles, shocks, and (maybe) even a few tears.  From the get-go you'll find yourself sucked into the world of the book and once that occurs, you'll find it difficult to put the thing down.

Archelon Ranch.  I'll not go into huge detail on this one.  I've already placed it on our first summer reading list, but it's also extremely difficult to go into details on this one without spoiling it.  You see, I think Archelon Ranch is like Seinfeld, in that it's about everything and nothing all at once.  And, like Seinfeld, there could be a very deep meaning that divulges the secrets of life.  Okay, I'm reaching a bit here, no doubt.  But, I really did groove on Archelon Ranch.  This is the sci-fi novel that you want to think Philip K. Dick would have dug.  Time travel - Check!  Zombies - Check!  But the pure genius of this book is establishing a set of characters who serve as both protagonist and antagonist throughout.

Murderland II: Life During Wartime.  I've not read this one, but considering that Cook is batting everyone out of the park, I'll add it to the list with little trepidation.  I really, really loved Murderland, and I'm sure the follow-up is nothing but great.  In fact, read it and pass along a review.  I really do love to hear from the readers and love to post your reviews here as well.

And, now, your MUST READ of the Week:

King Scratch by Jordan Krall.  I recommended this for summer reading, but have had a chance to finish it.  Man, my recommendation was pretty spot-on.  I was told that this was a story idea that was kind of played with prior to Krall's first book Piecemeal June.  Piecemeal June has a huge cult following, and it's deserved, I suppose.  I'm not as big a fan of that one as I am of his other works.  I prefer the gritty crime, the sharp "tough-guy" dialogue that echoes of Elmore Leonard, the genre play.  Hell, even his Western - Fistful of Feet - has this in aces.  That's why King Scratch worked for me.

What's of note here is that the dialogue is better than it's ever been and the writing is stronger than previous works.  Impressive showing for a book that would have/should have been his first.  (Granted, Jordan is, no doubt, a better editor now and has gone back and cleaned up the prose)

In King Scratch we travel through Krall's New Jersey, a place that has danger and sexual deviance lurking in every shadowy corner.  What's the basic story?  Well, basically, you've got all the elements that you need for a gritty noir: double-crosses, hit men, intrigue, blackmail.  But, then you've got Krall's signature gonzoness: squid, Abraham Lincoln, and fetishes galore.  It's a little like Archelon Ranch, in that I don't want to spoil it and feel like copious details would do such.  Rest assured, if you've got a strong stomach, and you want a groovy read, please pick up a copy today!