Some Dog Day Reading Material

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Kasey, my oldest daughter, texted me the other day rather randomly: “In no particular order, please tell me your top five books.”

Now that is tough. I took the Bible out of contention. That is an obvious choice for a Christian. So I sent her a response after I wandered around the study, which has walls crammed floor to ceiling with books. The list I sent Kasey consisted of my five favorite novels — books that I have read more than once. I thought I would share it with you in hopes it sparks similar list-making that can be shared with me and others. So here goes. Remember these five are only in order of when I spied them on the shelves.

• All The King’s Men, by Robert Penn Warren, featured Willie Stark, an American demagogue fashioned after Louisiana’s Huey P. Long. It was originally published in 1946. I have read it three times. Given the impending nomination of a certain bombastic real estate magnate, it might be time for a fourth reading.
• The Gay Place, by Billy Lee Brammer. Written in 1961 by a former staffer to Lyndon Johnson, recreated him in the same manner that Warren did Huey Long. (I clearly am fond of this approach.) David Halberstam, no slouch at writing himself though it was strictly non-fiction, predicted folks would be reading The Gay Place a century from when it was written. I likely will not be around to find out, but I would not bet against it. If I do manage to live to the age of 106 and am still sentient, I’ll dive in for my fourth reading of this fine novel as well.
• A Confederacy of Dunces, by John Kennedy O’Toole. O’Toole committed suicide at 31 after this novel and another were repeatedly rejected by publishers. Twelve years later, Walker Percy read it at the behest of O’Toole’s mother and brought it to his publisher. The novel won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. It features Ignatius J. Reilly, one of the most unlikable but interesting characters in modern fiction. If you’re a fan of “Sherlock” on PBS, think of Benedict Cumberbatch’s personality on that show coupled with a slovenly, slobbish self-styled scholar who lives with his mother.
• To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. I refuse to read the sequel published last year to this 1960 classic — Go Tell a Watchman. It might ruin what for me is a timeless book, and I will not chance it.
• Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantle, is the first of a historical novel trilogy with one more installment coming. It traces the rise to power of Thomas Cromwell and thus also features Henry VIII with his predilection for divorcing or beheading his wives. It is the finest historical novel I have read, and the only one on this list I have not reread. Bring up the Bodies, the second in the trilogy, is a worthy successor.

Now, for some worthy mentions. With the dog days approaching, here are some books I have read in the past year worth taking to the beach or mountains. Or just out on the back porch as the fireflies flicker.

• The Last Policeman trilogy by Ben H. Winters. I am not normally into apocalyptic fiction, not even a little bit. But my middle daughter Meredith suggested this for last summer’s reading. An asteroid is about to hit the earth, and a police detective in Concord, N.H. is still going about solving murder cases. Part of the attraction for me is that I was born in Concord and know it well through many return visits — including, briefly, last summer, while I was reading the last in the series. I predict you will be forced to stay up into the wee morning if you choose to read these page-turners.
• Dark Money by Jane Mayer. This New Yorker writer delves into the origins of the ascendancy of the conservative right and the billionaires behind it. It is both compelling and depressing, but intricately reported and smoothly written.
• Rogue Lawyer, by John Grisham. The veteran of 30 or so legal thrillers is back on top of his game with his latest. I haven’t read Grisham in a few years, and this tale set me off on a binge of reading the novels I had missed.
• The Bone Tree by Greg Isles. What’s with all the trilogies? This is the second in the series, with one more to come. Isles sets his thrillers in Natchez, Miss., where the long-concealed murder and torture of blacks during the civil rights era is finally unearthed. Isles’ novels are long, explosive and possess dozens of plot twists.

Happy summer reading. Wear sunscreen.

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