A Raucous Reading List for the Denizens of DrunkSkull
Classic novels, short stories, and poetry from some of my favorites. The spirit of this terrific work is what A Deep & Gorgeous Thirstaspires to. Here’s to hoping you’ll find some to re-read, or discover a few new favorites.
Top 5 Classic DrunkSkull Novels
1. Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller
2. On the Road or Big Sur by Jack Kerouac (if you like sad ones)
3. Ask the Dust by John Fante
4. Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
5. Play It As It Lays by Joan Didion
Bonus 4 Undiscovered Classic DrunkSkull Novels
1. Hard Falling Rain by Don Carpenter
2. Hangover Square by Patrick Hamilton
3. The Drinker by Hans Fallada
4. Women by Charles Bukowski
Novellas:
1. Ballad of a Sad Cafe by Carson McCullers
2. The Dead by James Joyce
3. The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
4. Hunger by Knut Hamsun
5. Notes From the Underground by Fydor Dostoyevsky
Non-Fiction:
1. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
2. The White Album by Joan Didion
3. Stand Still Like the Hummingbird by Henry Miller
DrunkSkull’s 5 Favorite Short Stories Ever
1. “A Perfect Day for Bananafish” by J.D. Salinger
2. “Less Delicate Than The Locust” by Charles Bukowski
3. “Night School” by Raymond Carver
4. “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” by Ernest Hemingway
5. “Heartache” by Anton Chekov
DrunkSkull’s Top 3 Books of Poetry
1. Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
2. Burning in Water, Drowning in Flame by Charles Bukowski
3. A Deep & Gorgeous Thirst by Hosho McCreesh (C’mon, you know I had to…)
Three Must-Read Poems by Charles Bukowski:
1. “The Crunch”
2. “The Way”
3. “I Met A Genius”
Of course, all these — even the obscure ones — don’t need my help. Most are widely available, and relatively easy to find in either your favorite library or bookstore.
Small press offerings, though…they do need my help. They aren’t necessarily hard to find via the internet, but it helps to know where to start looking. They’re worth the search. And because I would love for everyone reading this to find a new writer, or a new press to support, here’s a list of some of my favorites. If you buy just one thing off this reading list — buy one of these!
Terrific Small Press Books (at least three of which everyone should own):
And Still the Night Left to Go – Christopher Cunningham, Bottle of Smoke Press http://bospress.net/order.html
Booger – justin.barrett, Bottle of Smoke Press http://bospress.net/order.html
The Bridge to Take When Things Get Serious – Lori Jakiela, C&R Press http://www.crpress.org/2013/
The Buddha Bar – Joseph Ridgwell, Blackheath Books http://www.blackheathbooks.
Cadillac Men – Rebecca Schumejda, NYQ Books http://nyqbooks.org/title/
Everything Else We Must Endure – Brian McGettrick, sunnyoutside http://sunnyoutside.com/
Feeding My Heart to the Wind – Mike Kreisel, sunnyoutside http://sunnyoutside.com/
Freight – Mel Bosworth, Folded Word Press http://www.foldedword.com/buy/
More Than the Alley – Doug Draime, Interior Noise Press http://interiornoisepress.com/
Raymond Carver Won’t Raise Our Children – Dave Newman, Writers Tribe Books http://writerstribebooks.com/?
Songs For Oblivion – Luis C. Berriozabal, Propaganda Press http://alt-current.com/pp/pp_
Tiny Teeth – Anne Menebroker, R.L. Crow Publications http://rlcrow.com/services/
Trolleyman – Bob Pajich, Low Ghost Press http://lowghostpress.blogspot.
Words for Songs Never Written – William Taylor, Jr., Centennial Press http://www.centennialpress.
Why I Write in Coffee Houses and Diners – Albert Huffstickler, Author’s Choice Press http://www.abebooks.com/book-
You Can Make Him Like You – Ben Tanzer, Artistically Declined Press http://www.
And tons more…I wish I could name them all. But it’s a start — and I invite you down the rabbit hole…
Once more — a poem from the forthcoming book. You might recognize it from the event trailer:
Enjoy,
Hosho
Waking
on a couch,
your friend’s couch,
and no idea
how you
got there.
You’re filthy,
but otherwise
okay.
You can’t even
remember
leaving the
bar.
And you can’t find
the novel you
were reading,
but it seems
that might be
the only price
You’ll have to pay
for last night,
and besides
they make
more novels,
so you’re
okay with
that.
On the table
next to you
They’ve left you
a cup of water
and that like-to-about
breaks your heart.
So you get up,
take a piss,
and decide on a
naked dip
in their pool
before anyone
gets up.
The shock of the
cold water on you
gets the blood pumping,
and the lungs gasping,
and so does the climb out,
the cool summer morning air,
and you grab a towel
and sun a bit.
Your buddy
finds you out back
and fills you in on
all you were
there for but
completely missed,
and you both laugh about
what an unreasonable ass
you can sometimes be,
and his girl comes out,
and you apologize for
being naked in her pool
and using a good towel.
“Bah—who cares,
Let’s go get breakfast,”
she says, and later you’re gonna
take a beautiful girl to the Jemez
so this day is really shaping up,
and on the way to breakfast
you ask your buddy
about it, and
it turns out
you didn’t
lose the novel
after all.