32 Books You Might Have Missed The First Time Round

Needing a last minute Christmas present? There’s no better present than a book!

This isn’t going to be one of those lists of classics that everyone has either read, seen the movie or just can’t seem to get interested enough to put forth the effort–probably because they’ve heard of the book since the day they were born. Don’t get me wrong: I love Jack London and adore The Old Man and the Sea, but this list is comprised of books that don’t share the intense spotlight of being named “classic literature.” On this list you’ll see a few top-selling authors, but not their usual-fare best sellers . This is a list of new favorites you may have glanced over your first time through the shelves, but if you give them a chance you’ll come back to again and again.

1. CRUDDY: An Illustrated Novelby Lynda Barry – This book sits on the shelf under the guise of being YA fiction. At first glance it’s cartoony and doesn’t give much of an impression. But if you read this book be prepared to experience true evil, mystery, horror and penitence. It’s a lot to pack in to a little cartoon book, eh? Cruddy is an absolute masterpiece.
2. The Testamentby John Grisham - An alcoholic in recovery–who happens to have a law degree–travels to malaria-infested Patagonia in search of the heir to the fortune of an eccentric billionaire.
3. The Sparrowby Mary Doria Russell – Along with it’s sequel, Children of God, this is one of my all-time favorite books. Written from the perspective of a Jesuit priest/master linguist of the near future who is commissioned to travel to another planet to make contact with an unknown species which accidentally broadcast music from their homeworld in the Alpha Centauri system that was received by SETI here on Earth.
4. The Organ Grindersby Bill Fitzhugh – This is a comedy worth it’s weight in gold. I’d never even heard of Bill Fitzhugh before I picked this book up in the discount section
5. Round the Bend by Nevil Shute – An English pilot sets off for Arabia and amid an amazing backdrop of locales builds a cargo/bush transport business. Along the way he gets a deep look inside himself, thanks to a mechanic/Buddha/Jesus figure who reveals that one doesn’t necessarily have to belong to a specific religion to be holy.
6. Sick Puppy by Carl Hiaasen – Just another fun Hiaasen book. This one hasn’t been made into a movie (yet) and is the best of all his novels, to me.
7. The Rum Diary by Hunter S. Thompson – I’m not a member of the gonzo crowd who believe Thompson was a genius. I think he was somewhat warped and was very intelligent, and I suppose if he wants to call that gonzo he can. Don’t get me wrong, I like his writing, but he ultimately became a caricature of himself (as I’m sure we all eventually do, especially when we arrive with such a loud bang as he did). Regardless, The Rum Diary is one of my all-time favorite books. It waylays me in the tropics, it leaves me craving straight rum and hamburgers and sweat and heat and sand, surf and sex. It’s a book that locks me in its grip when I read it and it never lets go til I’m all the way through it. Now that’s gonzo.
8. Sex and Sunsets by Tim Sandlin – A likeable guy who is possibly a little deranged (he hears voices in running water) falls in love with a woman the instant he sees her, wearing a wedding gown and punting a football.
9. The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King – The Gunslinger begins the series gritty and dark and over the course of somewhere up near a million words it has various ups and downs, sometimes silly and sometimes brilliant but consistently inspiring. Warning: the ending, which King defends ruthlessly, is one of the most disappointing portions of the entire series. In my opinion it is second only to the Wizard of Oz-inspired bit with the ruby cowboy boots.
10. The Dark Half by Stephen King – The main reason I love this book is George Stark, the High-Toned Son of a Bitch himself, one of my all-time favorite villains, who just wanted to live.
11. The Hank Thompson Trilogy by Charlie Huston - My favorite new author. These books are grim, ruthless, bloody and brutal. Charlie Huston is the new master of pulp noir.
12. The Joe Pitt Series by Charlie Huston – The newly-wrapped up series of five books is a re-imagining of vampirism in general and in my opinion should be for men what Twilight is to women. As usual, it’s Huston, so it’s grim, ruthless, bloody and brutal. Oh and it’s often funny, too.
13. Birds of Prey by Wilbur Smith – There are three books in this small set (Monsoon, Blue Horizon), one of the many Courtney family sagas penned by Smith. Of all of them, this is by far, to me, the best.
14. Ariel: A Book of the Change by Stephen Boyett – The cover of this book looks like a fantasy novel from the early 80s. Probably because that’s exactly what it is. But the story is surprisingly well-told and fun, even if it was written by a then-teenager who has yet to produce another comparably-good work.
15. The Bangkok Series by John Burdett – Sail away on the wings of these three books (Bangkok 8, Bangkok Haunts, Bangkok Tattoo) to a corrupt, tropical, 3rd world country full of prostitution, drugs and murder. What fun!