Advice

On my favorite books

If you mean what you say, Coke Talk should have a companion reading list. What books do you read? Tell us your favorites already!

Okay. Here are some of my favorite books in no particular order:

Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens
The first book I ever read.

Matilda, Roald Dahl
The second book I ever read. J.K Rowling can’t hold a candle to Roald Dahl’s magic.

A Confederacy of Dunces, John Kennedy Toole
It’s a shame Toole checked out early. I would have loved to read his third novel.

A Moveable Feast, Ernest Hemingway
People who think nothing happens in A Moveable Feast totally miss the fucking point. If we could all make nothing happen so beautifully, the world would be a better place.

The Road to Los Angeles, John Fante
I’m a sucker for all of Arturo Bandini’s adventures, but this one is my favorite.

Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov
Duh.

Veronika Decides to Die, Paulo Coelho
Sure, I love The Alchemist too, but I consider it one of his lesser works.

Play It as It Lays, Joan Didion
Ventilated yet dense, Joan Didion will always have a special place in my heart.

Lithium for Medea, Kate Braverman
Heartbreakingly beautiful.

Women, Charles Bukowski
Oh, Chinaski. I fucking love you.

The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera
I’ve read this dozens of times, and with each turn I always find something new.

American Psycho, Bret Easton Ellis
Bret Easton Ellis is the Tom Ford of modern literature.

The Fountainhead, Ayn Rand
I give Rand a ton of shit, but Howard Roark is an important character.

The Idiot, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
It took me a while to read this one, but every hour was worth it.

Le Petit Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
It’s technically a novella, but whatever. I love this little book.

The Great Shark Hunt, Hunter S. Thompson
Gonzo is a way of life.

A People’s History of the United States, Howard Zinn
This ten pounder taught me more than every American history class combined.

The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
Californication made a noble attempt in season two, but I’m still waiting for this to be made into a movie that doesn’t totally fucking suck.

The Art of War, Sun Tzu
You want me to sum up Sun Tzu in a single word? Strategery.

Cat’s Cradle, Kurt Vonnegut
I practice boku-maru regularly.

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