May Book Roundup

I'm back...

I made it through a surprising number of books this month given how scrambled my brain has been feeling. Focusing on anything is tough while the unconscionable horror in Gaza grinds on and the Trump administration does its best to destroy every single thing I actually like about America. Things are bleak, but I suppose books are one of my few escapes. So, here’s what managed to distract me in May.

The High Window by Raymond Chandler

The book that kicked off this month’s Chandler bender (there are two more coming up on this list). The story begins as our intrepid detective Philip Marlowe is hired by a cranky widowed alcoholic to locate a rare stolen coin. Bodies quickly begin to pile up, as everyone who manages to get their hands on the coin ends up dead. It’s witty and sharp and very, very fun, with Marlowe delightfully cracking wise at every opportunity. The only Chandler I’d read before this was The Big Sleep, and this one is miles better.

Rum Punch by Elmore Leonard

This is such a good book - the ideal “light” crime novel (it still has lots of murders, don’t worry). A bail bondsman falls for a flight attendant who’s been smuggling cash into the country for one of his clients, a sociopathic gun dealer. It’s swiftly paced, funny, and sexy. The 1997 movie Jackie Brown is based on this book, and I must admit, it might actually outdo the source material. And I’m no Tarantino fan. I highly recommend both the movie and the book!

The Lady in the Lake by Raymond Chandler

Here, Marlowe is hired by a perfume company executive to locate his wayward wife. He heads out to the couple’s vacation home in Big Bear (fictionalized here as Little Fawn Lake), only to rapidly stumble upon a bloated, bejeweled female corpse that appears to be the also-missing wife of the property’s caretaker. The body is memorably described as “a blotch of gray dough, a nightmare with human hair on it.” Marlowe soon heads back to LA to continue his investigation and more and more people rapidly turn up dead. The plot’s a bit meandering, but who cares when the dialogue and observations are so incredibly good throughout.

Rejection by Tony Tulathimutte

I read fiction in no small part to escape the internet, so this hyper-online collection of short stories was NOT the book for me. I managed to get through the whole thing but I did not enjoy myself. At all.

The Little Sister by Raymond Chandler

My third and final Chandler of the month. I need to start portioning them out more carefully because I don’t have many more of his books left to read! This may have the highest body count of any Chandler I’ve yet encountered - the characters drop like flies throughout, usually after being stabbed in the back with an ice pick. We also get Chandler’s extremely cynical take on Hollywood, which is delightful. Maybe my favorite of the three.

A Physical Education: How I Escaped Diet Culture and Gained the Power of Lifting by Casey Johnston

I wasn’t aware of this one until its publication day, when Johnston happened to be doing a reading at Skylight, my local bookstore. Happily, I was able to make it, and I tore through the memoir the next day. Johnston details her life-changing foray into lifting that began in 2014, mixed with a bit of science and weightlifting history. I started down a similar fitness path only last year at age 41, and found much of what she has to say about freeing herself from the tyranny of diet culture and finally becoming comfortable in her own skin to be very moving. I wish I’d found something like this 20 years ago - my life could’ve been better.

Chefs, Drugs and Rock & Roll: How Food Lovers, Free Spirits, Misfits and Wanderers Created a New American Profession by Andrew Friedman

This is a fun overview of the American restaurant scene in the ‘70s and ‘80s. It’s based primarily on interviews with many of the major players of the era, like Wolfgang Puck and Nancy Silverton. It’s not all that tightly focused, but it’s an enjoyable read regardless. I must admit that it filled me, as books about free-spirited and successful boomers often do, with intense jealousy over how truly easy they had it back then. Free or cheap college, absurdly low rent, Quaaludes…ugh. A different world.

He Died With His Eyes Open by Derek Raymond

I read this for month three of my noir book club. I’d never read Raymond before (thanks for the rec, Leo). He’s considered the father of British noir, even though this, the first in the “Factory” series of five, didn’t come out until the mid ‘80s. It’s brutal and nasty and very good. Our nameless detective trudges around scuzzy ‘80s London trying to figure out who’s brutally beaten a middle-aged, thoroughly dejected alcoholic writer to death. It gets really fucking weird and funny at the end and I had to Google a whole lot of British slang while reading it. I’m looking forward to the rest of the series!

You’ll Enjoy It When You Get There: The Stories of Elizabeth Taylor

Taylor’s stories are understated and often quite funny, with psychological insights so fierce they make me wince as I’m reading. They’re mostly set in post-war England and deal with the middle class domestic sphere. A little bit Pym-like (the two were good friends) but quietly vicious instead of gentle, and especially good when it comes to unhappy marriages. She’s also great at writing about cats! I loved this collection, which was selected by Margaret Drabble (who is also well worth your time).

That’s all for this month. I’ll try to get better about sending these things out more regularly.