WATCHMEN by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons

The movie is coming, and it looks cool, but before you even think about buying a ticket, read Watchmen as it was meant to be experienced. TIME Magazine named it one of the 100 best English-language novels written since 1923 --- that's best "novels" in any form, not graphic novels.

Alan Moore is inarguably one of the great creators writing in any medium, having invented V For Vendetta, League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and From Hell, to name a few. None of these graphic novels translated particularly well onto the movie screen, and if you read Watchmen you'll see why. The book is so layered, with so much subtext, at best the movie will only be able to visualize the characters and pivotal moments. This was my problem with The Golden Compass as a film --- it looked beautiful but failed to capture the soul or impact of the novel.

In Watchmen even seemingly minor threads take you to unexpected places. A kid sitting near a newstand is reading a pirate comic, a seemingly random thread that ties back into the main story when you least expect it. The writing in that fictional comic is some of the most powerful prose you'll ever come across and could have stood alone as its own story, but as a subtext to what's happening in the world of forgotten superheroes, it's fantastic.

TIME called this book "a work of ruthless psychological realism." I've read it more than once and no doubt will do so again, and every time it knocks the wind out of me. Check it out.

In The Hand Of Dante by Nick Tosches

"Louie took off his bra and threw it down upon the casket." This book would deserve your attention if only because it has one of the great opening lines of all time, but there's much more to it than that.

If you are one of the many people who were forced to read The Divine Comedy in school and wondered why, In The Hand Of Dante will put everything in perspective. Publishers Weekly called it "outrageously ambitious" for good reason. Nick Tosches makes himself his own protagonist in a modern crime story with echoes to the past, where we find Dante contemplating the masterwork for which he is remembered. The voices in the two story arcs couldn't be more different but each is powerful in its own right.

The modern story involves the mob and clips along in keeping with any good gangster tale, but the brilliance in the Tosches-as-protagonist approach is the author's ability to deliver full-on rants on subjects ranging from the sad state of the publishing industry to the politically correct-infected healthcare system. His character is vivid, unapologetic and full of righteous bile that both shocks and inspires as it spews forth.

Rumor has it Johnny Depp has optioned this book for film. Read it before the movie comes out, though if any actor can pull this off, he might be the one. Because of the historical chapters and the heavy texture involved, this book isn't what I'd call an easy read, but once you find the rhythm you'll be glad you made the effort. Tosches is hands-down one of the finest writers out there when it comes to pugilistic prose, though known best for his nonfiction, especially the biographies of famous musicians. If you want a quick dose of his writing, pick up The Last Opium Den, a book in miniature that is really a bound copy of a magazine article he wrote. But read this book if you want something that bends your mind as it defies description.

Donald Westlake

Donald Westlake has died at the age of 75, author of more than 100 novels and one of the most influential American writers of the last century. Wonderful tributes have been written over the past couple of days by his friends and fans, by writers who were influenced by him, by those who had the good fortune to meet him, and also by people who knew his work and had studied it for years. A couple of standouts include the terrific piece Sarah Weinman wrote for the LA Times, which you can read here, and also Duane Swierczynski's remembrance of how he first discovered Westlake's writing and the influence it had on his own (which can be found on his blog).

I never had the opportunity to meet Westlake and suspect I would have been tongue-tied if I had, but he left a lasting impression when I saw him on a panel during Edgars week a couple of years ago. He was sitting alongside several other award-winning authors, all of whom were hugely successful in their own right, and what struck me was how the other writers were so clearly in awe of him but his self-deprecating humor put everyone at ease. He said he never outlined, except in one case, and that was for a book he'd never finish because he already knew how it was going to end.

He described writing as telling a story to himself, and we're all incredibly lucky he decided to share those stories with the rest of us. Best known for his Dortmunder series and the Parker novels (which he wrote under the name Richard Stark), Westlake had so many voices and stories in him that it's hard to believe a single man could have produced so many great novels in one lifetime.

In a century known for some pretty great crime writers, Westlake was in a class by himself, and his books are timeless because of it. Pick up anything by Westlake (or any of his aliases), and see for yourself.