Most people like to have something to sip or eat while they read a book, especially if it’s a classic book or fantasy or Sci Fi.
But reading literary fiction about crazy punks living wild rock and roll lives might prompt you to shy away from traditional fireside book reading fare. Here are my suggestions for what to imbibe, take, and ingest while reading any one of these novels. *
Gutter Folklore
My first ever novel Gutter Folklore about a house full of punks is rather tongue-in-cheek with a lot of various stories about the ensemble cast. I would suggest getting stoned for this one. Not like, completely baked, but a decent buzz. That should definitely enhance the book!
Follow a gang of sketchy musicians and offset urban clubbers who are forced to live in the same house because they cannot afford $5,000 a week in rent for a single studio. Also the first appearance of my epic character Skye Wright.
The Falling Circle
My second ever book, this one will tell you what it’s like to be a gutter punk. Not just about the hardships of being poor, but how weird it is to be poor! Cramped houses, crazy roommates, and living life on the urban edge.
For this work, you need to drink booze. And by booze, I mean booze! No craft IPAs or bottles of white wine, I’m talkin’ about th’ cheap stuff! Cheap beer, inexpensive rotgut, or even better, malt liquor. If you’re eating when you read this, make it cheap pasta or whatever deals they have at the local fast food joint. This is about being really forkin’ poor. Live it as you read it!
The Clubber
My anti-hero novel set in the San Francisco clubbing world of the Eighties. A self-absorbed artist is forced to confront his true self as he tries to become a rising star in the alt-underground art world.
For this, start off slow, with a small glass of liquer or a beer. Then, as you keep reading, try some stronger stuff. Halfway through move on to some sort of mid-to-high-level intoxicant, (You pick the drug,) and then read the last part of the book while coming down. The story is a process. So should your intake be as well!
Crash Shadow
My book on drug addiction, this story is about two people: one trying to get clean and sober and another sinking deeper and deeper into her addiction. Two characters who used to be a couple try to navigate their drug-centered lives in the concrete jungle.
This is basically two books, as it follows the two stories. Ergo it’s about addiction and recovery, and as such you should keep getting drunk and/or high and then lay off the stuff and let yourself come down, and repeat as you read. It’s my longest book, so that should be doable!
What the Hell Ever Happened to Yuri Rozhenko?
My punk road trip novel, and my best selling book. This is Skye Wright’s first novel as an exclusive main character. A ride up and down the West coast as Skye searches for her long-lost boyfriend Yuri while traversing dives, underground clubs, squats, and sex worker parties.
This is the book you need to read in pubs and bars. Maybe a cafe’ with a nice Irish coffee. Definitely a drinking book, but in a place of drink!
Stella Maris
The sequel to What the Hell, even though it can be read as a stand alone book. Skye Wright, punk and party animal extraordinaire, faces the crossroads of her life as she turns the big three-oh, and an overheard song reminds her of a long-lost friend. Pagan weddings and fever-dream raves!
For this book what you need to do is go to your friends house and ask for booze and drugs, and just drink or use whatever they give you. Even though this isn’t one of my more extreme novels, it’s definitely the way to go for this read!
A Long Slow Aftermath
Another work about my main character Preston, the star of The Falling Circle. In this story, Preston has just come out of drug rehab, trying to adjust to a world without the gauze of drugs and alcohol. He tries to make his way in a quickly gentrifying Oakland, California, caught between the working class and the upper crust techies pushing everyone out.
For this book you need to drink coffee. Lots and lots of coffee. If coffee isn’t your bag then any caffeinated beverage will do. If you aren’t into caffeine, then maybe this work is a really long trigger warning!
The Rise and Fall of Skye Wright
This two book series features, once again, my main character Skye Wright. Riding high while working at a prestigious alt-music studio, her life takes a sudden and sharp downturn, casting her back into the world of urban chaos. She tries to find her solace and her salvation, not in looking towards any possible future, but reaching back into her chaotic punk past to try and find her way again.
For the first book you need to start with coffee, then go to beer, and then something stronger. See the next book below to continue this saga!
The Return of the Dynamite Chicks
This is the second book of The Rise and Fall of Skye Wright series. You have to read the Rise and Fall of Skye Wright first before you read this book!
Skye, after facing sudden hard times, starts to get back on her feet. A chance meeting with an old friend prompts her to revive her long lost punk band The Dynamite Chicks, just one of many paths she chooses to try and put her life back together.
For this second book in Skye Wright’s tumultuous story, you need to drink your favorite caffeinated beverage. Preferably to excess!
Blood, Skin, and Ink
Six feet tall, covered in tattoos and scars, a beautiful and imposing woman with a hundred yard stare. A sex worker, a teenage runaway, a musician, an alcoholic and drug addict… few have lived the live of tumult and chaos that Miranda has known. A true woman of the world.
This is the only book I’ve ever written that jump around in time. It goes from present day to her truamatic teenage days, to her runaway days, and to her time as a musician and sex worker, all bouncing in and out from the present day. So for this I’m going to say, dealer’s choice. Take, drink, or use whatever you’re in the mood for when you read this one, be it hard rugs, coffee or tea, or pounding a case of PBR. Just go with the flow!
Miranda Scholl was a major supporting character in A long Slow Aftermath and the Rise and Fall of Skye Wright, but her character and her background story just grew to the point where I had to write a book for just her. Moving from the present day to her life as a teenage runaway, the life of this devil girl is laid out.
You can find all of my books at this link:
https://www.amazon.com/Jeffrey-Matucha/e/B06XKJQNB7/
* (As a clean and sober addict and alcoholic with more than twenty years of sobriety under my belt, I cannot realistically suggest people actually take drugs and drink while reading my novels, ergo this whole essay is really tongue-in-cheek. Even so, reading my books at a nice pub with a beer or a cocktail is recommended for those who imbibe. One should really wait for the Netflix series before doing anything stronger!)
