Do It: Read Ross Thomas

I am by no means overcompensated, but I am fortunate enough to have enough spare change to need to develop a few ways to keep myself from amassing too much money in any one spot. This poses a bit of a quandary. I don't make enough money to pursue heli-skiing or to become a devote of traditional Nipponese archery. But, I make too much money to establish an enviable set of collectable plates from famous places or to get every Care Bear ever made.

Further: my ENT has strongly encouraged me not to take up with SCUBA gear; I find people who build elaborate train sets in their basement to be as scary as clowns or gun enthusiasts; and, woefully, I lack the truly OCD phenotype necessary to seriously collect comic books or really get into a paraphernalitic sport like fishing.

So, I need a few ways to occasionally bleed the pressure off my bank account without getting into a situation where I find that my hobby is acting as a burn-off flare on the oil rig of my net worth.

One of those ways is eating at South Austin Grill. One of those ways is traveling. But perhaps the most indulgent and unnecessary way is purchasing first editions of Ross Thomas novels.

Thomas wrote international thriller/crime stories, heavy on the political satire and character-creation and lite on the actual mystery. His claim to fame is creating Michael Padillo and “Mac” McCorkle, the bar-owning, booze-swilling, banana republic-hopping heroes of the D.C.-based subset of his oeuvre. Thomas' firsts go for about $50 but can run you more, depending on quality and desirability.

Here's a quote to entice you:

Booth Stallings shifted his gaze to the hurrying Japanese Imperial Marines, then to the dead American medic, and back to the Filipino guerrilla. It occurred to him that this was the second Filipino he had come to know well, the first having been Edmundo something or other from San Diego who, like a robin, had appeared each spring near Stallings' grade and junior high schools, dispatched by the Duncan Yo-Yo people to demonstrate their product. Edmundo could make a Yo-Yo do anything, and for three childhood springs Booth Stallings had taken a limited number of private lessons at an exorbitant fifty cents an hour until, turning thirteen, he had discovered masturbation, Lucky Strikes and girls in approximately that order. -- Thomas, Ross. Out on the Rim.New York (NY): Mysterious Press, 1987.

And, here's the cannon:

The Cold War Swap (1966)
Cast a Yellow Shadow (1967)
The Seersucker Whipsaw (1967)
Singapore Wink (1969)
The Fools in Town are on Our Side (1970)
The Backup Men (1971)
The Porkchoppers (1972)
If You Can't Be Good (1973)
The Money Harvest (1975)
Yellow Dog Contract (1976)
Chinaman's Chance (1978)
The Eighth Dwarf (1979)
The Mordida Man (1981)
Missionary Stew (1983)
Briarpatch (1984)
Out On The Rim (1987)
The Fourth Durango (1989)
Twilight at Mac's Place (1990)
Voodoo, Ltd (1992)
Ah, Treachery! (1994)

Do it: read a Ross Thomas crime thriller.

PS - I have all the books in bold. They sit on the bottom shelves of my vintage quarter-sawn oak, drop-leaf-secretary-topped, barrister bookshelf, which was purchased with this purpose expressly in mind. Oh, and "Fit But You Know It" by The Streets is worth adding to your collection; now playing on iTunes.