Sub's Top Nine C

So I’ve been tracking our bestsellers closely for a month now, and it’s amazed me how the books keep moving up and down the charts. But the biggest mover these days is Why I Write by George Orwell, which is from Penguin’s beautiful Great Ideas series—and they’ve just added several new titles (including the Communist Manifesto, the Art of War, and Fear & Trembling). Might I say, they are quite affordable at $8.95. Anyway, there are several titles finding Subterranean homes en masse these days, so I thought you might be interested in what’s cooking below #5.

6. John Perkins – Confessions of an Economic Hit Man. Truth is not only stranger than fiction, it’s also determined through a nasty and cutthroat game of economics.

7. Haruki Murakami – Kafka On the Shore. Murakami ties together two fantastic narrative strings in his latest paperback to appear in the States. He’s the man!

8A. Suketu Mehta – Maximum City. One of Kelly’s favorite reads in the last year. As Stan Lee might say, nuff said.

8B. Missy Suicide – SuicideGirls. The Goth girls of the net expose politics, explode notions of porn and fetish, and…show a little flesh in the process.

9A. Chuck Klosterman – Killing Yourself to Live. Will the K-Man’s travelogue of rock ‘n’ roll death sites challenge the almighty Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs? Stay tuned.

9B. Dita von Teese – Burlesque and the Art of the Teese/Fetish and the Art of the Teese. The great Dita has been doing the burlesque thing for over ten years now. She's also the wife of Marilyn Manson and has a huge cult following. Aren’t those reasons enough to check this book out? Well, then how about this, we Sub folks think she’s cool as h***.

9C. Lawrence Weschler – Mr. Wilson’s Cabinet of Wonder. One of the store’s all-time bestsellers—we keep pushing it on everyone who walks through the door. It’s engrossing, witty, and strange. And we guarantee you’ll pass it on to your friends.

--Jason

Independents Week

I LOVE Fireworks. Like almost in a weird way. I live near the water tower on South Grand and occasionally we'll walk up there to see them during the St. Louis throwdown that is the 4th. It's just really not good enough, though. You can't HEAR them from there and in my mind, that's missing a major chunk of what fireworks are about. The BOOM is really cool. So I'm ecstatic that this year's Independents Festival is downtown at the Tap Room, a very convenient walking distance to the boom and the lights of the Riverfront. But you know, not TOO close.

BUILD St. Louis (of which we are members and BIG fans, and, well, I sit on the board) would like everyone to join us at the annual Celebrate Your Independents Festival! This year it's even bigger.

There is The Big Tent --- Independent businesses showcasing everything from Fair Trade Jewelry to home baked dog treats to BOOKS. There are crafts to inspire and colors to delight.

On the Stage --- Set your feet to tapping and your hips to swaying with City Folk, the Red Headed Strangers, and Folknbluesgrass. If you haven't heard them yet in the local music scene, then you don't want to miss out on this Festival.

The Art Corner (brought to you by SCOSAG and Mary Engelbreit)--- Visit the creation station and let your imagination fly. If you're the only one over 12 covered in finger paint, we promise not to tell. Bring the kids and get ready for fun.

Locally Grown Pie Contest --- Do you know what's in season here in Missouri? Can you whip up a mean pie? If the answer to both questions is yes, maybe, or I'd like to, then prizes may be in your future. If you need a pre-competition taste test, we are always at the store, happy to oblige. Visit with the GreenMarket and the Clayton Farmer's Market to pick up supplies and meet local farmers, then get to baking. Email BUILD at info@buildstlouis.org or call (314) 808-8032 for information on how to get your pie in the running.

Downtown Bike Tour --- Join the St. Louis Bike Federation and BUILD St. Louis for a 6-mile bike tour of some great St. Louis neighborhoods. Don't worry, even novice riders can make this one. Bring $2 if you're not a Bike Federation member. It leaves at 5pm from the Tap Room, so make sure to get to the festival early! Email BUILD at info@buildstlouis.org or call (314) 808-8032 to register.

Recycle Your Computer --- Bring $8 and your computer to the festival, and the St. Louis Teachers' Recycle Center will take care of you. The $8 covers the cost of recycling the computer and helps transform your old machine into useful supplies for St. Louis schools.

I get to man the booth this year so please stop by and say hello, and I will never turn down a free cold beer. The event takes place at The Tap Room at 2100 Locust St. from 3-9pm Saturday, July 1.

---Kelly

Even More Photography

Who hasn't stumbled across old family photographs before? Usually at Grandma's when you're a bored out of your mind teenager, it seems. They always look so much cooler than the pictures of today.
And I find that when you go back and look at those same shots as an adult, Grandma has become so beautiful and Grandpa was such a hunk. In the July/August issue of Utne Reader there's an interesting article on a website composed of found photos. Apparently there are several sites dedicated to just that. Did Davy Rothbart start all this? Or was HE the copycat?

---Kelly

Art is Alive

Has anyone seen Remote Viewing (Invented Worlds in Recent Painting and Drawing)? It is freaking amazing. It's a current FREE exhibit at the Art Museum containing the work of 8 different contemporary artists. I know very little about the contemporary art world and some of these folks blew me away. (Although there were a couple that I hated and skipped the iPod description of.) My favorite, by far, was Matthew Ritchie. You must go see the exhibit in real life because the image shown here or on the web DOES NOT DO JUSTICE to his work. Another one I really liked was Julie Mehretu. I'd try to describe them for you but I just don't have the words or the talent. With Ritchie's work we had fun trying to find the (semi) hidden skulls, and Mehretu's has these incredible layers of drawings with some sort of coating between the layers, which makes the whole thing look a bit waxy. They did make me feel like a bit of a loser, though, because a lot of the artists were around my age. But I found the whole thing inspirational, and believe me, I have no aspirations of being an artist.

---Kelly

Fast Food Nation

Fast Food Nation just keeps on being relevant (Jennifer Florida?). It was first published in 2001 (I know, I know, that’s only five years ago, but five years is a long time in topical non-fiction writing) and now has served as inspiration for a Richard Linklater film. Schlosser covers all aspects of fast food: labor, marketing, the beef industry, and the history of fast food expansion. There are even brilliant chapters on the potato industry and the chemical plants that produce all those “artificial” and “natural” flavors. Really a must read for those who love or hate fast food (somehow I fall into both of those camps). With that said, I’ll be interested to see how a piece of journalism translates into a fictional film. That formula hasn’t always worked in the past (Serpent and the Rainbow), but I have faith in Linklater. Anyway, I thought you might enjoy seeing the trailer.
--Jason

Sport is Dead, Long Live Sport

It’s been a tough week for St. Louis sports fans. The US (led, in part, by former SLU star Brian McBride) was eliminated from the World Cup, the Cardinals have lost control of their pitching, and it was really humid all week! Despite these facts, Javier and I heroically and courageously overcame sports melancholy to begin revitalizing and retooling the store’s sports section. And I must say, we’re pretty excited about the direction it’s going in. In particular, we have several new boxing, baseball, and soccer titles on the shelves. And there are even a few new football, basketball, and golf (!!!??!!) books. Too many in all to list here, but I’ll highlight a couple for yinz.


Norman Mailer – The Fight. Two men, Muhammad Ali and George Foreman, stepped into a ring in Zaire in 1975 to wage one of the most talked about boxing matches ever. The outcome of that bout changed both of their lives; it was also fodder for one of Mailer’s most well-respected works.

Roy Keane – Keane. Keane has been called brilliant, disgusting, a superstar, and a super failure. His explanations, rebutting of critics, and life story have made for a huge seller overseas (where soccer is king). Find out for yourself what all the fuss is about.

Mark Kriegel – Namath. Javier often says that Namath is one of the most Subterranean football players ever. He brought long hair and a rock ‘n’ roll attitude to a crew cut and clean living game (Mr. Johnny Unitas). And his legend (shamefully?) continues to grow—“I want to kiss you.”

Robert Whiting – You Gotta Have Wa. Whiting focuses on what makes Japanese baseball's concept of wa (“team unity”) so different from individualism in American sports. Amazingly, sport influences and reflects culture and society in Japan. Who would have thought? Certainly that kind of thing doesn’t happen in the States.

Magnum Soccer. A beautiful collection of soccer related photographs. Priests playing in a church yard, kids kicking it on the beach, Jamaican fans cheering for a losing side. And there’s an introduction written by Simon Kuper. It's great!

More to come,
Jason

It's The Season of Books

This is one of the times of the year that publisher's reps come spinning through, seducing us with their wares for the fall. We've recently met with Phaidon and Taschen, and a few more are on the agenda for the next two weeks. (Which means, by the way, if you're trying to set up ANY kind of appointment with Javier or me, it's probably not going to happen. These times of the year are almost enough to convince one of us to get a day planner. Almost.)

Anyway, new stuff from Phaidon includes:
--a change in the 55's series (which is a series I LOVE.) They're switching them from tiny paperbacks to oversize hardbacks and adding in more photographers. Mary Ellen Mark is due out this fall in the new format. If you've ever seen her Indian Circus book, you are as excited as I am.
--a big fancy book on Dada billed as, "The most comprehensive assessment available of Dada as revolutionary cultural movement and mass-media intervention."
-- this crazy interesting monograph of Francesca Woodman whose backstory is fascinating and something like this: she was raised by artist parents who gave her a camera at a very young age and she took pictures like crazy; she killed herself at age 22. This is the most comprehensively illustrated monograph ever of her work.
--Vitamin Ph is the newest installment in the series containing Vitamin D: New Perspectives in Drawing and Vitamin P: New Perspectives in Painting. This one is New Perspectives in Photography and features the work of 121 living photographers.
--Japan Style is coming, and it looks at Japanese culture through its architecture, arts, crafts, cinema and literature.

So, Taschen. When that rep comes to town it serves to reinforce that we are no longer 25. I think, THIS WEEK, we managed to close Vito's, Erato, Mangia, Pestalozzi Place, and Riley's. If we were not as chipper this week as we should have been, blame Taschen. For the fall they have coming:
--a super-cool monograph of Jan Saudek. Some of my favorite shots by him are when he photographs the same woman at age 20, 30, and 40. I haven't figured out, yet, whether that series pumps up my self-esteem or smashes it, but they're always interesting.
--Berlin which is a book of photographs of that city. Who doesn't like Berlin?
--a new series in the Basic Art format starring composers. The first to be issued is Mozart.
--another new series in the Icons format, film stars beginning with Audrey Hepburn, Clint Eastwood, Orson Welles, Marlon Brando (the hottie), Charlie Chaplin, and Marilyn Monroe.
--a book based on the film Babel by Alejandro Gonzales Inarrito. It's the third film in the series comprised of Amores Perros and 21 Grams.
--lastly, something Russ Meyer would be quite fond of, The Big Book of Breasts, which is exactly that. A giant book full of giant boobs. In the meeting I exclaimed that this was clearly meant for men and lesbians because I suspect that no hetero woman would be even remotely excited about looking at a giant book of something she sees EVERY DAY. The response I got was, "So?" Anyway, the cool thing about this is that in the versions being sent to the rest of the world the cover is a pair of bare giant breasts, but in the US version we get a bra. It has some kind of mylar bustier that wraps around the book and hooks in the back, acting to preserve our American modesty. I found that version much sexier, but again I was overruled. (Our rep is a man, by the way.)

Cool, huh?

--Kelly

Big Top Subby

Time is running out to see one of the (many) gems of St. Louis cultural life, Circus Flora. The last show is on June 25 (that’s five days left, folks). If you don’t know CF, then you’re missing out. It’s a European-style circus that features acrobatics, juggling, horses, and a clown who would impress even the best of Vaudeville. But let me warn you with acrophobia out there, when the Flying Wallendas perform the seven-person pyramid, close your eyes.

And if an evening of circus life has you pining for more, Sub can help. We’ve always got circus sideshows, freaks, and geeks on the mind. New in the store…

*Marc Hartzman – American Sideshow: An Encyclopedia of History’s Most Wondrous and Curiously Strange Performers
*Roger L. Worsham – The Gathering
*Daniel P. Mannix – Memoirs of a Sword Swallower

and some Sub classics…

*Freaks, Geeks & Strange Girls: Sideshow Banners of the Great American Midway
*J.D. Hall - Freaks and Fire: The Underground Reinvention of Circus

From the center circle,
Jason

My Family Has Been "Dog People" From Way Back

My parents were in town this past weekend and I learned two things:
1. My great grandmother had a German Shepherd Dog named Kai that she could send to the store with a coin purse and list in his mouth, and he would return with whatever she had needed. I so don't think our three mutts could accomplish that, not to mention they'd probably be whisked away en route by dog fighters in the misguided hope that they would serve well as bait-dogs.
2. A truly lovely time can be spent at the Montelle Winery in?/near? Augusta, MO, sitting on their wonderful deck, sharing a bottle of wine and watching one of the most spectacular views of the Missouri River bottomlands. And it's only about 45 minutes from St. Louis. Although, the road is quite hilly and windy and a designated driver is highly recommended.

--Kelly

She Loves You

No more of this future tense stuff, on Sunday, Paul McCartney will BE 64. Wow, that’s kind of crazy (but perhaps not as shocking as losing John Lennon to a crazed gunman and George Harrison to cancer). My love affair with the Fab Four began at a tender age of nine, and I can still remember how “Penny Lane” captured my imagination the first time I heard it unfolding from the speakers of our family car. Hearing that song transported me to some colorful, exotic place and ignited a life-long passion for music.

When I think about how much the Beatles did in the brief time they actually recorded together (12 albums from 1963 to 1970), and the sheer innovation and growth between the start and end of their career (“Please Please Me” to the song cycle on side two of Abbey Road), I can’t believe how much they evolved in those seven short years.

But enough about what I think. The definitive biography on the Beatles is Shout! The Beatles in their Generation by Philip Norman. While Norman didn’t interview any of the former Beatles for this book, he knew the Beatles personally; he combines solid research and a sharp critical look at the rise and fall of the four lads from Liverpool who shook the world. The section of the book about the band’s early days on the rock-n-roll circuit in Hamburg, Germany, will make you think about the lovable mop-tops in a totally different way. Some of their exploits put the Rolling Stones to shame. It’s a great book for those who love the band or for those who simply recognize the songs on the radio.

Another interesting look at the band is Let It Be by Steven Matteo, one of the titles in Continuum’s great 33⅓ series. Matteo, who’s not only the author of a Dylan biography but also a music writer published in mags ranging from Spin to the New York Times, delves into the history of the recording sessions that ultimately led to the album Let It Be. The sessions were meant to be a foray back to the live stage, tapping into the raw energy that charged the Beatles during their Hamburg days. What emerged from those creative and chaotic hours in the studio was an album produced by the pop enfant terrible Phil Spector, and a final product that perhaps not all of the Beatles were satisfied with. Matteo does thorough research in this book, and by talking with numerous people who were in the studio with the Beatles, the author works to re-create the band at work. Also worth checking out is the heartbreaking movie Let It Be that was filmed during these sessions. The final rooftop performance is not to be missed.

On the Move

While there was just a slight shift in the order of our top five sellers this week, several books are threatening to unseat the champs. We thought you might be interested in knowing about…

*Dita von Teese – Burlesque and the Art of the Teese. Ms. Marilyn Manson’s flip book is also a primer on fetish.
*Missy Suicide – SuicideGirls (I’ll let you boys and girls find their site on your own). Back in print again!
*Saul Williams – The Dead Emcee Scrolls. Slam poet’s meditations on hip-hop culture.
*George Orwell – Why I Write. Because you’re George Orwell, silly!

What Are You Doing Friday?

The clues are here! The Dead Drop show starts this Friday and Matt has dropped off the clue sheets. Friday's art opening features a Super Spy art exhibit which includes the paintings, prints, books and hand made art-objects of acclaimed artist Matt Kindt. This show is a site-specific art spectacular that will involve the viewer as well as the space. In keeping with the theme of spies, code-breaking and secrets, the viewer will be asked to not only gape at the show, but also to interpret it and use the secrets gained from careful observation to find secret messages and art carefully placed throughout the store. "This is a one-of-a-kind exhibit that will have you patting your coat pocket afterwards and wondering where your pen-gun disappeared to." You lucky folks who keep up with the blog get a heads-up on the 'ciphering. Stop by anytime to pick up the clue sheets and get a leg up on all those non-blog-reading losers.

WE all know what the answers are and might be open to some creative bribery, but it's got to be really good.

The show opens THIS FRIDAY June 16 with a reception from 7-9pm at the store. It will hang through Sunday July 16.

---Kelly

I am a Camera

I’ve been tapping into my inner goth girl this week. I have to say I’m totally absorbed with the new Dresden Dolls album Yes, Virginia. And it’s a perfect summer, old chum, to roll your striped stockings down and delve into the punk cabaret. Opera St. Louis is opening the tattered curtain on Kurt Weil’s Street Scene, his “American musical” or Broadway opera that chronicles, as Weil puts it, “love and passion and greed and death -- life in a tenement house between one evening and the next afternoon.” Or for real devastation, mein liebchen, where you can see the bruises on the whores, check out Stages St. Louis production of Cabaret. Oh Sally Bowles and your green nail polish, you’re the “kind of girl who gets your slings and arrows from the dumpster.”

But for those of us who want to get our cabaret au courant, I’m making plans for the swelter of July. Settle into the velvet seats of the HiPointe Theatre and prepare for a night of short films and Dadaist Vaudeville... July 20, The Dresden Dolls will sponsor “F**K the Back Row,” a program of short films submitted by Dresden Dolls fans, vaudeville acts, and a solo performance from la femme Doll Amanda Palmer.

--Jenni

image: Portrait of Anita Berber by Otto Dix

I (Heart) STL

Javier and I have visited both LA and DC in the last few months on business, which included visits to the bookstores in those communities. Each time I've returned I've come back with even more love for St. Louis, although in different ways. See, I grew up in Houston, went to college in Austin, and moved to St. Louis after graduating. And that was about 12 years ago, when Austin was still cool. People, usually St. Louis natives, are generally shocked when I tell them I chose St. Louis over Austin. But I did. And do. Anyway, I've been wondering if self-loathing is characteristic of just St. Louisans or if it's to be found among most natives. When I think of my friends who still live in Houston, I don't remember hearing them slag on their city, same with extended family members I have who grew up and live elsewhere--Detroit, DC, even Dallas (and who but them LIKES Dallas?)

When we came back from LA, we were full of inspiration about what we could do with our store, just from seeing the stores there. We got a lot of confirmation about our vision. On the one hand you want to be unique in your ideas, but on the other it's nice to see them in practice and to see that they appear to work! We LOVED the stores we saw there and immediately recognized what parts we could take from them and what parts we have no use for. On the plane ride back I was thinking about all of the amazing things there are in St. Louis, already, and that as we continue to shape our store, that it will be a part of this movement. And St. Louis accomplishes all of this with a population of just 1, 344,000 for the city and the county. (And I include the county in these numbers because creativity does not stop at the line 200 feet from our store, despite what some folks say, and the city and county are undeniably linked, i.e. every person on staff works in the county but lives in the city, and spends money in both. But this really is a whole 'nother post.) Anyway, it's not really fair to compare our accomplishments to, say, Chicago (pop. 2,862,000) or LA (pop. 3,845,000), when they have just SO MANY MORE people to pull from, and these numbers don't include their surrounding counties. We have amazing artists (graphic, "high", comic, crafty, etc...), coffee shops, bars, boutiques (affordable for some and affordable for many), literary journals, wine bars, music venues, and on and on...

I love St. Louis.
--Kelly

Our (Well, My) Plan

The idea of building a website just seems far too daunting. So, I'm thinking we'll just build up this little blog with photos, descriptions, recommendations, lists, directions, etc...until it serves as a pretty good facsimile of a website. Then, maybe, we'll feel more comfortable tackling THAT monster. It's either a weak way to go, or a very, very smart one. I choose the latter.
---Kelly
PS. We have pop-up blocker on this computer (which rocks, by the way) and it doesn't allow for the spell-check box to appear, so please forgive any typos that slip through. We have to proof-read the old-fashioned way. The horror!

la Coupe du Monde, la Libraririe Souterrain

You didn't know you love soccer? Well, you do. And you'll particularly love soccer on Monday at 11 AM when our boys face a tough Czech Republic side (ESPN 2). So set your VCR, TiVo, or alarm clock. Or, better yet, take an early and extended lunch break and join others like you at Meshuggah to pull for the US. And if you need additional help with this strange sport called soccer (a.k.a. football), we've got some things to help you:

1. Nick Hornby - Fever Pitch (Hornby's reflections on the ups and downs of being a fan)
2. Franklin Foer - How Soccer Explains the World (one of our best sellers--see what all the fuss is about)
3. Simon Kuper - Soccer Against the Enemy (the book that inspired Foer's work)
4. Bill Buford - Among the Thugs (chilling investigation into the dark side of fandom)

Your dear soccer fan,
Jason

What I'm Reading

Lords of Chaos exists somewhere between true crime and music history. Through interviews, narrative, and rare photos (including a gruesome image of former Mayhem vocalist Dead after committing suicide), Moynihan and Soderlind detail a particularly violent period in the Norwegian Black Metal scene, including murders, suicides, and church burnings. The book focuses heavily on Varg Vikernes (known as Count Grishnackh), who is currently in prison for murdering former friend, producer, and bandmate Euronymous (Oystein Aarseth)—one of the most influential contributors to the scene and the former proprietor of Helvete, a record store that was in Oslo and the focus of much of the culture. The book also details the obsessions of the period and Vikernes: Satanism, Norse religion, and Neo-Nazi ideology. The prose isn't always consistent, but it’s a fascinating read if you can stomach it.
--Jason

Ain't Easy Being Bloggy

A third of our HTML code disappeared in a freak accident today. Yikes! I thought this blog business was supposed to be easy. Everything back to normal after a half hour of furious typing, however. Hooray! (K + J: You owe me overtime for this). And for all of you in the know about tomorrow, let me be the first to say...Der Ball ist rund, ein Spiel dauert 90 Minuten, und Deutschland wird Weltmeister! Costa Rica might as well pack it up now.
--Jason

One of Our Newest Obsessions

Poor Jenni and Jason. Javier and I keep subjecting them to Brazilian Girls. Like, EVERY day. We just got back from a huge book conference in D.C. at which there are parties almost every night. Who knew? Anyway, at one of these parties, a band called Brazilian Girls played and we were both completely blown away. The singer (who played the entire show in a sparkly blindfold--and who doesn't like sparkles?) speaks four languages and the beats range from techno to bossa nova (I think--I'll have to check with Javier on that) to reggae to a mix of all the above. They were just amazing. We were so excited about them that we had to buy the album before leaving D.C. and, man, was that a struggle. It's hard to believe that D.C. was the epicenter of a major music scene in the early 80's when there are just two record stores now. TWO! So at last year's party sponsored by this distributor, Jon Spencer played. I HATE Jon Spencer, but I'm excited about the types of music these folks are bringing. I can't wait to see who's playing next year. In the meantime, Javier and I will have to duke it out over who gets to go see Brazilian girls in Chicago when they play. (Because I also play them constantly at home, Brad has re-christened them Brazilian Chumps, so if I win the "who gets the road trip" throw-down it looks like I'll be going by myself.) ---Kelly

The Real Sign of Summer

Chimney Swifts--those bat looking birds that fly over the cityscape every summer. Dozens can be seen on a daily basis flying over the Loop. So take a look up when you hear a strange rattle above you. They're great urban birds; urban development actually increased their populations.
--Jason

Anyone Remember When Skates Came With Keys?

I admit it, I stole this idea from Baltimore's fabulous Atomic Books, but lookee here, it's a clever collaboration between literature and roller derby. In case you were wondering, we're obsessively checking for any books on roller derby, but so far no go. There HAS to be one in the works, though.---Kelly


Update: There is a book arriving any day now, Roller Derby to Rollerjam: The Authorized Story of an Unauthorized Sport by Keith Coppage, and there is another title due in October, Catherine Mabe's Roller Derby: The Art of the Jam. I KNEW they were coming.--Kelly

Up Oh, So Early on a Saturday

So our burgler alarm goes off at, like, 7am this morning. False alarm, no worries, and many many thanks to the UCity police department. That phone call is one of the worst phone calls to get (although it is MUCH better at 7am than 4am--which has happened, by the way). Anyway, props to Patrick at Meshuggah for walking with me through the (thankfully) empty store this morning. My point, though, is that you would be surprised at just how many people are up AND EXERCISING at 7 am ON A SATURDAY. I was shocked at how full Forest Park was. On my way back home I was thinking that there's no way I could EVER own a coffee shop, since Patrick was (obviously) awake and working at 7am, too. On a Saturday. ---Kelly

Quiz Time

Last night I took a quiz about my friend Kristopher (who will be having an art show here in late August/early September). I did horrible, but I thought you fans of the store should really get a chance to test your skills regarding us. Put on your thinking caps and go for it!
--Jason

So You Hate Science Fiction

It’s okay. I don’t hate you for it. But if what you really don’t like about genre fiction is spaceships with virile star captains, tribal women ready to seduce them, and neologisms like “the planet Xantos V” or “the deadly Zwarkroks of Mmmpff,” then let me suggest a couple titles that might let you reevaluate speculative writing.

Philip K. Dick – A Scanner Darkly. Dick is the writer a lot of literary folks start with when wishing to slum it in the genre ghetto, and this novel might be the easiest for someone like that to digest. In some ways it’s barely even science fiction, rather a novel about the drug culture of the 1970s and its toll on human lives. But it’s also (like almost everything Dick wrote) a novel about paranoia. The main character, Bob Arctor, is an undercover drug officer called “Fred” who is investigating a major drug user/dealer named Bob Arctor. Yikes! By the way, all your indie friends will see the Richard Linklater film based on the novel that’s coming out later this summer, so why not have a leg up on those folks.

Richard Matheson – I Am Legend. Matheson is a veteran of The Twilight Zone and mid-century pulp magazines, but don’t let that make you think he’s a dimestore hack. Though this novel came out in 1954, it still influences vampire fiction and film today (28 Days Later for example). Robert Neville is the last man on earth. Everyone else is a vampire, long infected by a virus that spread rapidly through the human population. Neville is hold up in his house, only able to venture out during the daylight hours to forage for goods and necessities. At night he is kept awake by the beckoning calls of his former neighbors, friends, and associates—“Neville. Neville. Come out, Neville.” He occupies his mind with music, literature, and the scientific examination of the vampire virus. But he is haunted with the purposelessness of being the only human in a vampire world. If there was just another…

Mary Doria Russell – The Sparrow. The good news? SETI works! The bad news? The messages it’s receiving are some sort of indecipherable music. The good news? The Society of Jesus will send a scientific expedition led by freethinker and gentle soul Father Emilio Sandoz. The bad news? What they find will corrupt his faith. The good news? There’s a peaceful and intriguing sentient species on the planet. The bad news? They’re cattle for the planet’s dominant species. The good news? This is a fantastic novel. The bad news? You haven’t read it yet.
--Jason