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1. One book that changed your life--The Choirboys...LAPD Sergeant-turned-author Joseph Wambaugh's breakout novel. Changed James Ellroy's life too. The characters and stories in this book are written on the page in a pretty straightforward style, but they pulse with
disturbing truths and dark humor. If you decide not to read this because
you think a story about street cops could only be dull or somehow propagandic...your loss!
2. One book you have read more than once--Sophie's Choice, by William
Styron
I single this one out just because it's over 500 pages, and it took what
seemed like ages for me to even want to start it. Some fantastic
paragraphs of hyperbolic writing.
3. One book you would want on a desert island--Two Girls, Fat and Thin
I read this book by Mary Gaitskill after coming across an article where
Kim Gordon praised it. But that's not why I hold in such high esteem. The
Dorothy character was/is me in practically every way.
4. One book that made you laugh--A Confederacy of Dunces
Lived up to the hype, what can I say? Masterful absurdity, and a classic
that really should be praised MORE.
5. One book that made you cry--The Stalking of Kristen.
George Lardner Jr's account of his daughter's relationship with, and murder
at the hands of, a brutish thug. It wasn't his writing that made me upset,
because Lardner is a journalist and avoided making this overly sentimental.
It was his matter-of-fact details, of his daughter's life and death, of the
life and death of the boyfriend, of the justice system that virtually aided
and abetted him.
6. One book you wish had been written--an above-average Sonic Youth biography. may
be on the way though, if David Browne does his job.
7. One book you wish had never had been written--On the Road
Overrated. "That isn't writing--it's typing", saith Truman Capote
8. One book you are currently reading--We Were the Mulvaneys, Joyce Carol Oates. I've had to start/stop a few times now. I have not read anything by her before.
9. One book you have been meaning to read--The Corrections, by Jonathan Franzen. Yeah...it's over there in my bucket o' books. I'll get to it next year. And probably regret not picking it up sooner.
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