To compact...or not to compact

My 5 favorite trash novels....

What do I consider a trash novel? I think it's pretty evident, but basically anything on the New York Times bestseller list is a good start. Mass paperback fluff. Fun reads.
Good, but not in danger of making you think. Here we go.

1)Dark Rivers of the Heart - Dean Koontz. This book takes everything Koontz is famous for - great storytelling, a strong but conflicted and battered male lead, a too-smart dog, and romance, and takes it to its pinnacle. While Koontz's writing can get as tedious as a ditto sheet (especially after you've read 35 or so of his books), this book doesn't copy his other books too horrifically. It even throws in a not so happy ending.

2)Salem's Lot - Stephen King. By far the best vampire book I've ever read (that's not Dracula), Salem's lot has great characters, and great storytelling that doesn't bog down in it's 600 or so pages. Salem's lot is gory to the Nth degree, actually frightening, and bleak. With a villain to rival any, I would highly recommend Salem's Lot for some fun summer reading.

3)8 Million Ways to Die - Lawrence Block. I hesitate to put this on any trash list, because of it's noirish sensibilities and beautiful gritty writing, but I think it qualifies. If you haven't read any of Lawrence Block's books (especially the Matt Scudder stuff), they combine detective, crime, and personal philosphy in a way that's highly entertaining to read. The story follows an alcoholic ex-cop, ex-PI in the investigation of a murder of a prostitute trying to leave her pimp. Formulaic? Possibly in idea, but definitely not in execution.

4)Angel Fire East - Terry Brooks. Ouch, MIKE! Don't kick me. I'm not calling fantasy trash! That said, I don't typically get into fantasy (with the exception of Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Neil Gaiman and a certain Raymond Feist book entitled Faerie Tale), but this novel (the third in the Word and the Void trilogy) is a brilliant climax to a modern day fantasy series. Dark in a way usually not seen in fantasy, Angel Fire East has intensely great, deep characters that you can't help but pull for. What can I say? I'm a sucker for battle of dark and light over the souls of the world stories.

5)Runaway Jury - John Grisham. No trash novel list is quite complete without John Grisham. Right? Right? Yet another in a long line of John Grisham books written to be made into a movie, the whole plot of this was trashed on screen. Book = Suit against tobacco companies. Movie = Suit against gun manufacturers. Kinda lost the zip on screen, but I'm not talking about the movie here. Runaway Jury is full of fun twists, and a sickening description of what happens to the body on an inhalation of tobacco smoke (spasming intestines, increased pulse, etc.). The characters have purpose, and if nothing else, they cast the movie well.

Almost made it - The Andromeda Strain - Michael Crichton, Crackpot - John Waters.