Riot Recommendation

Riot Recommendation: Like ‘Ocean’s 11’ in Book Form?

Rebecca Joines Schinsky

Chief of Staff

Rebecca Joines Schinsky is the executive director of product and ecommerce at Riot New Media Group. She co-hosts All the Books! and the Book Riot Podcast. Follow her on Twitter: @rebeccaschinsky.

I watched Drive over the weekend, and in addition to the obviously exciting Ryan Gosling screentime (insert ‘Hey girl, you’re such a stereotype” joke here), I found a lot to like about it. But it turned out being a very different movie than what the opening scene made me expect. I don’t want to commit spoilery, so I’ll just tell you that it seemed like the set-up for a heist movie. And that got me all kinds of excited.

I also vibed on The Italian Job–the original and the Edward Norton-Donald Sutherland remix–Ocean’s 11, The Great Train Robbery, and The Thomas Crown Affair. Don’t even get me started about The Usual Suspects. That shiz is my jam. What can I say? I love a good heist story. There’s action! Danger! Logistics! (Wait, I think my OCD is showing.)

I love watching the characters plan every last detail and then waiting for the pieces to fall into place. I also love that these movies rarely require much thought on the part of the viewer. They’re sheer fun, and sometimes that’s all you need. I want to bring that to my reading life every now and then!

I’ve gotten a bit of a start. A few years ago, I read Flawless by Greg Campbell and Scott Andrew Selby, a narrative nonfiction account of the largest diamond heist in history, and I was fascinated. Just last week, I plowed through Amy Reading’s history of con artistry The Mark Inside (out March 6 from Knopf) and was so entertained that I barely noticed I was actually learning stuff. And I don’t know where to go next. So, Riot community, what are your favorite heist stories?