Twenty Books

Bastard out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison    About a southern girl whose stepfather is none too nice.  We read this in my "Southern History in Film and Fiction" class. The Rachel Papers by Martin Amis    Story of a boy in love with a girl named Rachel.  Read for great Martin Amis writing style. Time's Arrow by Martin Amis    Novel in which time inexplicably runs backwards.  You will begin to expect time to run backwards too.

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood Distopian novel set in the near future about a theocratic society.  A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers    The title says it all.  I love that man. The Rules of Attraction by Bret Easton Ellis    Seemingly the only Ellis novel which does not involve killing.  Great story of students at a liberal arts college who all have sex with everyone on earth. Teeth by Hugh Gallagher    A young zine writer is forced to write for the teenybopper magazine "Bop Cheese."  Funny as hell, and I'd like to marry Hugh Gallagher, or at least have sex with him, please. Unravelling by Elizabeth Graver    One of those woman-born-before-her-time stories about a very interesting woman in the eighteen hundreds. High Fidelity by Nick Hornsby    Imminently better than the movie.  I read some review  that said Rob is unlikable, but I always tend to date these types of guys, so I love it. The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka    Guy turns into a bug.  What, have you never heard of this book?

Sons and Lovers by D.H. Lawrence    I liked this a lot more than Lady Chatterly's Lover.  It's supposedly autobiographical, and the main character is so wrapped up in his mother that he can't have a real relationship. Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller    This book reminds me of On the Road.  It's about a guy traveling around Europe in the twenties and doing whatever the hell he wants.  Nice and fat, too.  (The book, that is.) Lolita by Vladimir Nabakov    I did not want to read this book.  I do not normally find sex between old men and young girls interesting, but somehow this book makes it seem sexy.  I also dug the movie with Jeremy Irons. Ahab's Wife by Sena Jeter Naslund    This is the story of Una, the wife of Captain Ahab, who was another 'woman before her time.'  I'm reading this now and it's very absorbing. The Fuck Up by Arthur Nersesian     About a guy who just can't stop fucking up.  This book is fun to carry around. Youth in Revolt by C.D. Payne Another nice fat book, about a young guy who pretty much ruins his whole life over a girl named Sheeni.  (I'm so glad that's not my name.)  I didn't much care for her, but Sheeni-hatred notwithstanding, it's a fucking hilarious book.  Skipped Parts by Tim Sandlin    Two thirteen-year-olds have sex,  the girl gets pregnant, they have the baby and remain friends.  Another funny book. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris    A collection of humorous essays.  Ol' David has led an odd life, but it makes for some very funny stories.  The Moral Animal by Robert Wright Explains the theory of Evolutionary Psychology, which is amazingly fascinating.  Explains everything we do in terms of evolution.  Orlando by Virginia Woolf About an immortal who begins life in the Elizabethan era as a man, changes to a woman in the Victorian era, and lives into the current era.  If you ever need to write an English paper, this is a good book to choose.  Also it's good even if you don't need to write an English paper.   Read first, then rent the movie with Tilda Swinton.  (I mean that Tilda Swinton is in the movie, not that you should take her with you to the video store.)