the good "trashy" novel.

by trashy i mean the books was written in a hurry, has a fugly cover, and the cheapest copy some lame-o could come up with for the blurb in the back. the kind of book you see dangling in a metal bookrack at your local liquor store (not that i would know anything about liquor stores mind you).

i've picked up plenty of these while waiting in line at the liq...er, grocery store. some of the best are...

1. phantom by susan kay. i dunno if it's outta print but i do know it's good enough to have a sorta cult following to it.
2. most books by christopher pike. granted some of his stuff is still in print but his writing is often sloppy enough that i call his stuff "good trash." i liked the midnight club, witch, the season of passage, monster, see you later, and others...
3. sins of fathers and the beast within by jane jensen. i picked these up after playing the gabriel knight mysteries' video games. her writing improves from book to book and i'm hoping to read her stand alone novel millenium sometime soon.
4. a cry in the night by donna ball. i know for sure this one is outta print. ptooey.

Susan Kay´s version of the Phantom of the Opera is really good, if you only think of the first half. I just did not like the second half ( the part set in the Opera house ) because it´s not as well written as the original. But the first half made me cry of sadness. Still it´s a good read, especially if you want a cheap novel and some hours of entertainment.

I don´t know if this is what you really mean but I love to go and buy books in stores at airports just so I can have something to make time pass. I usually end up with some fantasy like RA Salvatore.. His Echoes of the Fourth Magic is another good book if you want to pass some time waiting for an airplane.

I've never seen him in a liquor store, mostly I buy him at K-mart, but Christopher Pike is my favorite writer. He IS a little lazy but he's also good enough to drag you into the story and keep you there till he's done with you. Witch is one of my absolute faves and even non Pike fans seem to like his Last Vampire series.

Does John Grisham count? Not exactly literature but they're page-turners.

chris pike is a real good storyteller...his plots are why i usually read his stuff.

i've never read any grisham...i've just bought my first clancy book though!

I like Tom Clancy a lot, although I am more partial to his earlier stuff

I think that Red Storm Rising was his best, but Cardinal of the Kremlin and The Hunt for Red October were also quite good.

Though I would hardly call Tom Clancy and John Grisham "TRASHY"....