‘Crooks’ author Lou Berney on the book that wracked him with joy and despair – Orange County Register

Lou Berney, a favorite of the Book Pages, is the author of excellent stand-alone novels, including “November Road” and “Dark Ride,” as well as his series about getaway driver Shake Bouchon, such as 2024’s “Double Barrel Bluff.” The author, who teaches in the undergraduate English and MFA programs at Oklahoma City University, spent more than a decade out West. “California, to me, always felt like home,” he told us in 2023.  “Especially the parts of California that don’t often make it to the big screen. I just love the parts of California that remind me a lot of Oklahoma … the fields and the strip malls and just the life of a place that in some ways represents everything, good and bad, about America.” Along with working on the FX series “The Lowdown,” he’s just published a new novel, “Crooks,” and here he takes the Q&A.

Q. Is there a book or books you always recommend to other readers?

I know she’s pretty popular, but I think Louise Erdrich still doesn’t get enough love (she should get all the love). “Love Medicine” and “Tracks” are two books that electrified me when I first read them, so I try to make sure everyone else has read them, too.

Q. How do you decide what to read next?

I have not evolved from my childhood reading self: I go into a bookstore, grab a book that grabs my attention (sometimes title, sometimes cover, sometimes an author I’ve heard or read good things about), and paw through it. I try not to peek at the flap copy (too many spoilers) but instead read the first page or two.

Q. Can you recall a book that felt like it was written with you in mind (or conversely, one that most definitely wasn’t)?

When I read “Case Histories,” by Kate Atkinson, I felt like she’d been inside my head, stolen everything I ever wanted to do, and then gone out and done it far better. I was wracked with both joy and despair. Still am.

Q. Is there a person who made an impact on your reading life – a teacher, a parent, a librarian or someone else?

My eighth-grade English teacher, Mrs. Dillon, had every right and reason to dismiss me as a lazy smart-mouth overconfident insecure wannabe 13-year-old dumbass writer, but she fully and enthusiastically encouraged me to pursue the craft. Her belief that I could actually write a book someday gave me the momentum and direction I desperately needed.

Q. Are you someone who must finish every book you start – or is it OK to put down the ones you don’t connect with?

I used to grind through every page, no matter how much I wasn’t enjoying a book. Now I feel free to pull the plug after 20 pages or so. Life is too short! And it gets shorter the older you get.

Q. Is there a book that tapped into an emotion you didn’t expect?

I read “Wise Blood” by Flannery O’Connor for a freshman English class in college, and from the cover, it looked dark and grim and serious. But it’s so funny too! That was my introduction to the mixing of light and dark in writing, and such an influence on me.

Q. You worked on Sterlin Harjo’s terrific new series “The Lowdown” starring Ethan Hawke, which is partially set in a bookstore and references a bunch of writers. Can you talk about that experience at all?

It was an amazing experience to work on a show with so many exceptional creative minds — first and foremost, Sterlin Harjo, who has one of the most original and exhilarating voices on TV. He and Ethan raised everyone’s game in really wonderful ways.