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Christopher Moore
I first met Christopher at the Santa Barbara Writer’s Conference where he was a keynote speaker.  I had found the conference rather heavy, with a lot of very intense workshop leaders and participants.  Christopher kept us laughing throughout the evening and his books have never failed to deliver the same effect.

In particular, I love that some of his novels take place in California and specifically in my beloved San Francisco.  My favorite story of his is how as a broke, struggling writer; he was working in an Italian restaurant when his agent called to tell him that he had received an offer from a publisher including a significant advance.  Christopher just said thanks and that he couldn’t talk, as he was about to take a tray of garlic bread from the oven. Only with the hot tray in his hand, did he realize what his agent was telling him, and he promptly dropped the tray onto the floor.

Lamb – definitely his classic.  A hilarious tale of Jesus’ uncharted first 30 years, told through the eyes of his best friend, Biff.

A Dirty Job - Charlie Asher is a pretty normal guy with a normal life, married to a bright and pretty woman who actually loves him for his normalcy. They're even about to have their first child. Yes, Charlie's doing okay—until people start dropping dead around him, and everywhere he goes a dark presence whispers to him from under the streets. Charlie Asher, it seems, has been recruited for a new position: as Death.

It's a dirty job. But, hey! Somebody's gotta do it.

Bloodsucking Fiends - Jody never asked to become a vampire. But when she wakes up under an alley Dumpster with a badly burned arm, an aching neck, superhuman strength, and a distinctly Nosferatuan thirst, she realizes the decision has been made for her.

Making the transition from the nine-to-five grind to an eternity of nocturnal prowlings is going to take some doing, however, and that's where C. Thomas Flood fits in. A would-be Kerouac from Incontinence, Indiana, Tommy (to his friends) is biding his time night-clerking and frozen-turkey bowling in a San Francisco Safeway. But all that changes when a beautiful undead redhead walks through the door ... and proceeds to rock Tommy's life -- and afterlife -- in ways he never imagined possible.

You Suck – A Love Story.  This is kind of a sequel to A Dirty Job and Bloodsucking Fiends – same vampire theme, same San Francisco - and some of the characters reappear.  But it has its own clear plot and characters as a young, naive writer is turned into vampire by his girlfriend for all the right romantic reasons.  Chased by his hilarious work colleagues and an evil ancient vampire, this book just rolls along up and down like the hills of San Francisco where it all plays out.

Fluke - Just why do humpback whales sing? That's the question that has marine behavioral biologist Nate Quinn and his crew poking, charting, recording, and photographing very big, wet, gray marine mammals. Until the extraordinary day when a whale lifts its tail into the air to display a cryptic message spelled out in foot-high letters: Bite me.

With a hilarious crew to back him up, Nate realizes something very fishy indeed is going on.

By turns witty, irreverent, fascinating, puzzling, and surprising, Fluke is Christopher Moore at his outrageous best.

Well, now the bangers and mash have really hit the fan. The whole damn country's about to go to hell in a handbasket because of a stubborn old fart's wounded pride. And the only person who can possibly make things right . . . is Pocket, a small and slight clown with a biting sense of humor.

Pocket may be a fool . . . but he's definitely not an idiot.

Adam Mansbach

I have met Adam a few times.  A Caucasian heavily influenced by hip hop, he is a delight to hear speak.  As he gets more excited by his work, his voice and body take on the energy imbued in his work.

Angry Black White Boy - This is a unique book dealing with the frustrations of race in urban America. It is tough to read because of its rich colloquial language and hip hop references, but a must-read for our generation.

The End of the Jews - An inter generational and absorbing fusion of three stories.  THere is one scene that has stayed with me a year later when the grandfather and grandson go spray painting graphitti.  A classic.

Christopher Buckley
The closest I’ve got to Christopher Buckley is watching him on Jon Stewart’s Daily Show.  I was also stopped by a man as I boarded a plane in ‘DC who saw me reading one of Buckley’s novels and he told me he knew him.  Unfortunately, I was too jet lagged to follow up.

Like Christopher Moore, Buckley is funny, up-to-date, and moves his stories along briskly.  He writes about many of our political problems and approaches them with all the fresh air that is absent from our governments.

Florence of Arabia
When a Sheik’s wife, a friend of a worker at the State Department is executed, the worker comes up with a plan to emancipate women in the Middle East. The plan is covertly supported by the US Government and is political satire at its best.

Thank You For Smoking
Made famous by the movie, the book is an excellent read and an insight into big business spin.  The characters are fast moving and believable.

Supreme Courtship
Ever a major and far-reaching topic in political circles, Buckley manages to provide a hilarious insight into how the court works and the secrets behind the robes.

Boomsday
I think this is my favorite.  Not only does Buckley cover a topic that everyone else seems to be ignoring, but he does it brilliantly.  Harnessing an understanding of the blogosphere and other evolving traits of the 21st Century, he makes you sit up and acknowledge the elephant in the room.

Robert Dugoni
An author similar to John Grisham,  Dugoni writes legal and moral thrillers, fast moving, engaging and full of suspense.  Dugoni quickly ensnares you into the plot and caring for the characters throughout the novel.

The Jury Master
Follows the entangled lives of people with Vietnam memories long buried and the people who will go to any length to ensure they stay that way.
 

The Cyanide Canary  At the core of this enthralling legal drama is a 250-gallon storage tank containing cyanide. A young worker is ordered to clean the tank, which he and others believe contains only dirt and water. Without safety equipment, he is overcome by fumes and emerges severely brain damaged. His case is taken up by an EPA lawyer.

Damage Control

A well- connected attorney has everything going for her in this undemanding page-turner until, in the span of a few days, she's diagnosed with breast cancer, catches her husband in an extramarital affair, and her beloved twin brother, James, is murdered during an apparently botched robbery. An exotic lost earring left at the scene of James's killing leads Dana to suspect there's more to his death than meets the eye, Her determination to catch her brother's killer draws her into a showdown with a villain who will stop at nothing to eliminate the threat she poses.

Wrongful Death 

Just minutes after winning a $1.6 million wrongful-death verdict, attorney David Sloane confronts the one case that threatens to blemish his unbeaten record in the courtroom. Beverly Ford wants Sloane to sue the United States government and military in the mysterious death of her husband, James, a national guardsman killed in Iraq. While a decades-old military doctrine might make Ford's case impossible to win, Sloane, a former soldier himself, is compelled to find justice for the widow and her four children in what is certain to become the biggest challenge of his career.