books/plays to read - Daniel Boughton

Adams, Douglas - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, Life, the Universe and Everything, So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish, Young Zaphod Plays It Safe, Mostly Harmless Delightful humorous prose, full of non-sequiturs especially. This is what British wit can be, along with Monty Python, of course.

"If human beings don't keep exercising their lips, he thought, their mouths probably seize up. After a few months' consideration and observation he abandoned this theory in favor of a new one. If they don't keep on exercising their lips, he thought, their brains start working."

"There is a theory which states that if anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened."

"Man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much—the wheel, New York, wars and so on—while all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man—for precisely the same reason."

Alexander, Lloyd - The Book of Three, The Black Cauldron, The Castle of Llyr, Taran Wanderer, The High King This pentalogy is a story set in Prydian, a land full of adventure, and is full of fun and symbolism. It's good for kids, although adults can enjoy it too, like the Chronicles of Narnia.

Westmark, The Kestrel, The Beggar Queen This trilogy is a little more advanced, I think, fitting for a slightly older audience. The style of the story, and the adventures within, seem to be reminiscent of the French Revolution, or at least the way I picture it.

These two series are a good introduction to Alexander: he has some more good children's books, such as The Cat Who Wished to Be a Man, but that's a different story.

Burgess, Anthony - A Clockwork Orange If it was good enough for Stanley Kubrick to make a film out of it, don't you think it's worth reading? I do.

Camus, Albert - The Plague This is a great book to read over and over. I don't know why, exactly.

"Do not wait for the last judgment. It takes place every day."

Card, Orson Scott - Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide These are great books. They are very intriguing in terms of authorial construct, although the human interactions ultimately seem realistic, and are at the very least fascinating. I guess you might call it sci-fi. I regret that I have not yet read the entire four-part series (with another four or so in a parallel series, of which I have read Ender's Shadow and Shadow of the Hegemon). Check out the official website, Hatrack River, for a complete bibliography and all that good shit.

Carroll, Lewis (a.k.a. Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There Wonderful wordplay, and inspiration for all sorts of psychedelic ideas.

Carver, Raymond - Fires Some of his best work, of what I've read. Includes the sensational poems Your Dog Dies, The Baker and You Don't Know What Love Is

Crichton, Michael - I've enjoyed most of his extensive work, not all due to the fact that I haven't read all of them yet. The Great Train Robbery is by far his best, historical fiction. The sad thing about Crichton is that although the style of his writing and scope of each book is such that it could make a great film, Hollywood never lives up to the possibilities. Some of them are just awful (Congo), and some of them are good even though you know the book's better (Jurassic Park). Also read: The Sphere, Terminal Man . . . etc. Lots of good reads.

Dahl, Roald - everything he has ever written, especially his two-part autobiography, Boy and Going Solo, as well as the novel The BFG

Dostoyevsky, Fyodor - The Brothers Karamazov Masterpiece. Great economy of characters, plot twisted and knotted, thick psychological creations, and liberally sprinkled with quotable passages reflecting humanity.

Fitzgerald, F. Scott - The Great Gatsby Great portrayal of not-so-great characters. Swinging.

Heller, Joseph - Catch-22 The ultimate story of confusion and contradiction, and military/bureaucratic ineptitude, but most importantly it's funny as hell (an appropriate analogy). I used the quote below as part of my senior quote:

"Morale was deteriorating and it was all Yossarian's fault. . . . he was jeopardizing his traditional rights of freedom and independence by daring to exercise them."

Herbert, Frank - Dune, Dune Messiah, Children of Dune, God Emperor of Dune, Heretics of Dune, Chapter House Dune The Dune series is a fantastic and detailed description of a fantasy world spanning millennia. Each book is some 600 pages long, but those will whiz by as you will be enjoying yourself immensely while Herbert conjures up images of gargantuan spice worms and forever changes your understanding of the word melange.

Kerouac, Jack - On the Road Dig Beat? Want to? Well even if you don't, read this. This may be one of the chief definable cause for my unending quest to meet people, to travel, to explore, to beat the life and live the beat.

King, Stephen - The Dark Tower series I loved this series; I couldn't wait for him to finish the damn thing. Now that he has I need to catch up.

L'Engle, Madeline - almost anything she has written, including the stuff you know (A Wrinkle in Time, The Swiftly Tilting Planet, The Wind in the Door), but also random stuff such as The Arm of the Starfish. They're all interconnected anyway, it's all about one hyper-extended family and their earthly and otherworldly friends.

Lewis, C. S. - The Chronicles of Narnia (all seven) The Magician's Nephew, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair, The Horse and His Boy, and The Last Battle Fantasy children's books, but so intricate that they are enjoyable for any age.

The Space trilogy Out of a Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength The last is the best.

Neville, Emily - It's Like This, Cat Growing up in NYC in the . . . '50's, I think.

Orwell, George - 1984 More than the year your little sister was born, 1984 was the indeterminate future date when communism had accomplished its final goal of a three-class, three-nation society where almost everyone lives horribly.

"Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past."

Plato - Republic Some people don't like Plato. Personally, I dig his style, very roundabout and satiric. (I hate Aristotle. What a waste of paper.)

"And if he is compelled to look straight at the light, will he not have a pain in his eyes which will make him turn away to take in the objects of vision which he is able to see without pain, and which he will conceive to be in reality clearer than the things which are now being shown to him?"

Schiller, David - The Little Zen Companion About the size of a desk calendar, this book is full of little gems from all over. For slow sifting through.

Sher, Anthony - The Year of the King A diary (and sketchbook) of an actor, for about a year leading up to playing the role of Richard III in a production of Shakespeare's play of the same name by the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-on-Avon. Reads like a novel. An inspiration for any diary-writer.

Tolkien, J. R. R. - The Lord of the Rings plus the prequel The Hobbit Once again, as with Lewis, this series could be read by children, perhaps a little older than the Narnia readers, but Middle Earth is a place that bears revisitation many times in one's life.

Twain, Mark (a.k.a. Samuel Clemens) - I had some collection of his short stories once, and this man is undeniably funny. Rather inventive too.

Vonnegut, Kurt, Jr. - Slaughterhouse-Five The main message/purpose of the author is stated explicitly, and yet there is so much else that comes out. If you've read this once before, try it again while assuming the conception that the narrator is a senile old man, not that he's truthful. The beautiful thing is that Vonnegut doesn't have to drive away this conception to make his voice heard.

"On the ninth day, the hobo died. So it goes. His last words were, 'You think this is bad? This ain't bad.'"

"Rosewater said an interesting thing to Billy one time about a book that wasn't science fiction. He said that everything there was to know about life was in 'The Brothers Karamazov,' by Feodor Dostoevsky. 'But that isn't enough any more,' said Rosewater."

"How nice--to feel nothing, and still get full credit for being alive."

Cat's Cradle A wonderful book and philosophy (Bokononism or something). Crazy events, vibrant characters.

Breakfast of Champions About halfway through, it seemed even better than Slaughterhouse-Five. But towards the end, as (but not because) the narrator started becoming more manifest, I enjoyed it less. A great book, if a somewhat buggy story. As with most of the Vonnegut I've read, as I read it seems to lend itself to my thinking of ideas for a screenplay. Apparently this was already made into a film, with Bruce Willis, which I haven't seen.

Player Piano One of the more depressing anti-utopias, and doesn't seem so far off.

Plays (that must be seen, and reading them couldn't hurt)

Churchill, Caryl - Cloud 9 Funny and unexpected, lots of switched gender identities in the dialogue and the mechanics. Concise wit.

Durang, Christopher - 'Dentity Crisis Great fun with multiple personalities. Quite inventive, and not just the banana bread.

Inge, William - A Social Event A short one-act, lampoons the celebrity mentality.

Ives, David - All in the Timing Six one-acts, with a delicious surreal comedic arc. I especially like The Philadelphia, if only for the great truth about Cleveland. You've probably already seen one or two of the one-acts, maybe in an informal setting.

Korder, Howard - Search and Destroy A man can dream of truth and achievement, but how to go about grasping it? A violent, volatile look at modern America.

Boys' Life Another gripping investigation of the male psyche.

Larson, Larry and Levi Lee - Some Things You Need to Before the World Ends (A Final Evening with the Illuminati) Hilarious two-man satire of organized religion and society.

Mamet, David - Sexual Perversity in Chicago Short scenes, snappy (and yet tastefully ambiguous) dialogue, sexual perversity . . . what else do you need?

The Poet and the Rent Great children's show, stocked with standard-snapping characters and devices.

McNally, Terrence - Lips Together, Teeth Apart Disturbing yet probably true, highly-stylized play.

Quinn, James, and Alaric Jans (music and lyrics), John R. Powers (book), based on the novel by John R. Powers - Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect up? A combination of poignant and silly scenes, stereotyped characters that somehow fit perfectly together, and beautiful sacred music. Not every scene or song is a winner, but overall this musical delivers.

Shakespeare, William - Read everything this man's written, even if I haven't finished yet.

"Remember that I am an ass: though it not be written down. Yet forget not that I am an ass." - Dogberry, from Much Ado About Nothing

Siefert, Lynn - Coyote Ugly Wow. This play is violent in such a humorous way and humorous in such a twisted way that it's hard to say what to think of it. A convoluted family. In the desert. Maimed like trapped animals. Honest like nothing.

Sondheim, Stephen (music and lyrics), Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart (book), based on the plays of Plautus - A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum Hilarious antics, wonderful music, madcap pace.

Stoppard, Tom - Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead So dark, so comic, so unconventional and unexpected (at least the first time). Tossing coins. The question game. Classic.

Wilde, Oscar - The Importance of Being Earnest This is just so unbelievably funny, especially the whole cucumber sandwich deal.

Link to Adam's The Amazing List of Truly Stunning Literature.

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