Books I've Read That You Should Read Too

Homicide: A Year On The Killing Streets by David Simon

I just recently finished this epic tome of crime on the streets of Baltimore in the late eighties. Written by the director of The Wire when he was still a journalist for the Baltimore Sun, Homicide is exactly one year spent through the eyes of the Baltimore homicide detective. This book is exacting in detail, from every angle of investigation, from establishment of a crime scene to autopsy procedure, from collection of evidence to the art of interrogation, from whiteboard to courtroom. There is no detail left untouched. What really makes this book great though is the detectives. In contrast to the almost clinical establishment of procedure laid out by Simon are the vivid personalities of CID homicide detectives. Many of which have directly influenced or even appeared as characters on The Wire. From Jay Landsman with his sick sense of humor and terrifying presence in the interrogation room to Donald Worden, the "Big Man" who uses his keen intellect and photographic memory to solve some tough cases. The brotherhood of police is also very apparent throughout, with frequent scenes referring to the alcoholism that seems inherent with the job, Kavanaugh's becoming a familiar location by the end. You go through the ups and downs of some major cases, from ones as darkly humorous as a 'black widow' (who takes out insurance policies for people and then has them killed in record numbers) to the very serious rape and murder of an 11 year old girl. If you're a fan of The Wire, this is must-read. If you aren't, this is a great place to start.


I Hate Your Guts by Jim Norton

My love for Lil' Jimmy Norton is well-established for any who know me. That being said, this book like his last one was fantastic. Unlike his last book Happy Endings, which was about his tales of the road to becoming a stand-up comic, which involves prostitutes, rehab at 17, shitty poetry from rehab at 17 and more, I Hate Your Guts is a collection of essays about various people Jim has encountered or experienced in his life and why they suck. He picks a broad range of targets, from rather obvious douches like Al Sharpton to obscure people, like the "strong Gentleman of Color" who pushed him away from a water fountain when he was a teenager, or 9 year old Jimmy, the inept little leaguer who failed miserably at all things baseball. His essays are brutal, funny, and honest, not hesitating to point out the hypocrisy of people even if he's one of them. It has plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, including for me at least the chapter on Al Sharpton containing both a picture of Jim with the man who stabbed Al, and with Al himself, with a self-effacing message beneath it. Good times.



Pattern Recognition by William Gibson

This is probably my favorite book of the year, although it came out a few years ago now. It's by the author of Neuromancer, and it deals with a woman named Cayce who works for an advertising agency as a specialist due to her bizarre allergy to certain overused imagery in corporate logos. The main arc of the story involves her pursuit of the creator of a mysterious set of short films; no one knows where they originate from, nor can they even agree on the chronological order the films are meant to be viewed in. Highly sought after by Cayce's boss, who sees the boundless potential in the mind of someone who can create such unrelenting buzz, this artist also captures the attention of most of the notable characters in the book. While the story no doubt takes its time to unfold, the climax and the reveal of the nature of the films and the artist are absolutely worth the wait, and as I personally don't mind a book that meanders in the life of an interesting person, I was absolutely blown away by the ending. Gibson really has managed to capture the essence of art and why it exists, all within the background of a post-9/11 world (the book was written not long after). What made Neuromancer so impressive to me (besides the fact that he basically posited the internet, cyberspace, and basically kickstarted the genre I write in [inspiring the likes of Neal Stephenson and the Wachowski brothers]) is how adept Gibson is at making you root for inherently unlikeable characters. The protagonist of Neuromancer is essentially a washed-up junkie who in a coalition with a crazy general-turned spy, an ex-prostitute-turned mercenary, and a sociopath illusionist, attempt to destroy a truly beautiful piece of technology simply for the sake of self-preservation. Not one of these characters should inspiring any of the emotions you end up feeling for them, Case especially whose drug abuse borders at one point on suicidal. And all at the behest of a chaotic AI known as Wintermute. I know my description sounds crazy and really, it is, but that's also part of what makes Gibson a master at what he does; never once does the bizarre scenery of the novel distract from the story itself. Rather, it bends to it rather nicely. Since I've essentially written two reviews, why don't you go ahead and pick that one up too:


Neuromancer by William Gibson