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the watchmen alan moore / dave gibbons this was recommended as the best comic series ever written. and this from a guy who knows a thing or three about comics. other than possbily mis-managing my expectation, i have no choice but to honor the plug.

Big Trouble J. Anthony Lukas (149/754) News of a Kidnapping Gabriel Garcia Marquez (63/287) Harlot's Ghost Norman Mailer (783/1168)

		the fountainhead ayn rand 07.2003 she doesn't appear in the mla's top 100. she appears twice in radcliffe's, more pedestrian, top 100. and lastly, she not only appears four times in mla's reader's poll, she occupies the top two spots. what more could one ask for in a recommendation. while it took a little bit for me to embrace the work, after a few hundred pages the story took over and consumed me. don't let the fact that it took me four months to finish it because i took three months off to build a corporate website and have a child. actual invested reading time was just a few weeks for this 800 page monstrosity. i don't know if it would fall in my top five, but it would fall in my top 50, without doubt. and, it's kind of lucky i stumbled upon her because i've been shopping around for a religion and how can one as self-serving as me turn away from a philosophy which centers on the individual, especially when that individual is me.
		Choke chuck palahniuk 02.2003 "i learned long ago to not go to movies with 'sex' in the title, i'm always disappointed." i should have respected this advice from marty before delving into this book. i was told i'd love it, it's about a sex addict, they said. it's like the book was written for you. this is the beauty of our individuality. when one person hears something, they think one thing, when i hear the very same thing i think something entirely different. this was obviously the case here. don't get me wrong, the book is very good. the subject matter was handled expertly, but you don't call me to the table for a meal like that and dish up a simple porterhouse. i'm expecting a roman like feast of carnality and 2,000 plus pages of it. again, i enjoyed it, it just fell about 500 adjectives short of what my mind had readied itself for.
		lake wobegon summer 1956 garrison keillor 12.2002 people either seem to hate or love ole garrison. i certainly don't hate him so i must fall more on the love side, although it seems a little strong. not many can argue his ability to tell a story. he's good. i think the burn for many is the connectibility they have with his tales. depending on where and who you are, you mnay not be able to identify with his yarns and if that's the case, i reckon he could be little bumpy to read. in summer, garrison deals with one of the age-old issues our society just can't seem to best ... sexual maturation. the agony our young people go through in our culture seems absolutely inane. everyone knows about it, everyone lived it, yet many can't seem to recall their awkward, questioning periods for anything. our elders are fearful of what this means and often times what was ok for them, ain't ok for their youngins'. hopefully works such as this will take us back to when we struggled with this period of our lives so that we may better associate with our children as they venture on this tumultuous and sucky ride.
		the two towers j.r.r. tolkien 11.2002 i do not subscribe to some people's rule of finishing books you start. if i don't like a book for any reason, i put it down. i simply have too many books i hope to read to spend time on one that isn't panning out. i have a short list (20) of books stacked in my bedroom that are on the to be read next list and another 100 in my library that have been directed to me in one manner or another. what is unique about this book is that this list is reserved for those that i have finished and even though i did not complete this one, i have something to say. i read and enjoyed the hobbit. when very young, i tried this subsequent series but it did not hold my attention and i moved on. when i heard the movie was coming out, i decided to give it another try in that i hate how movies ruin any potential enjoyment to be had by reading the (always-better) book it was based on. the first book in this series was ok. at the end i felt it was a pretty long path for a fairly basic story. this second one is even worse. i'm 150 pages into it and these guys haven't done a thing but walk around the country looking for each other. sure, they bump into a curious fellow or two along the way, but that's about it. they prattle on about who they know and where they come from and sing the occasional weird-ass song about what i honestly cannot say because i've learned to skip any longish italicized sections in tolkien's works (studied on their own they may possess merit, but interspersed as they are they simply prolong my agony). in the end i have concluded that if these ax and bow wielding do-gooders had a car this series would not be a trilogy but instead an 80-page novella.
		the corrections jonathan franzen 08.2002 i typically only read books that come highly recommended from some source i deem reliable. this was one such book. the danger with this routine is that with adulation comes expectation and when it is not quick to deliver, i am quick to tire. i'm sure in the right time, right place and right frame of mind, it may have caught my rapture a little sooner but as things were, it did not. that is not to say though that it didn't have some really great moments and phrases and imagery, it's just to say that the book came highly recommended and well we've already covered that.
		a painted house John Grisham 06.2002 i am a student of english, used to be at least. i appreciate and respect the written word, always have and quite likely forever will. and while i revel in the technical capabilities of our language's writers the first and foremost requirement in this craft for me is the story beneath the text. now granted a story told in a ingenious and innovative way offers a literary thrill to a word-dork like me, but the story cannot get lost in the science. t.s. elliot for instance, considered by many to have written some of the most eloquent and skilled prose ever seen, in my eyes loses the reader in morass of language and style therefore rendering his wasteland and other efforts impotent to move many a reader. this is tragic. painted house is not and puts it on the opposite end of the spectrum. it is raw, uncut storytelling whose delivery is so brazenly simple, it soothes while it flows. and, it flows fast. hat tipped.
		Ghost Story Peter Straub 05.2002 every time i read a book of this ilk, i swear at its conclusion that i will never read another book of this ilk. yet here i am years later, rifling through the pages, subconsciously noting the number of times i furrow my brow or think "what?!? that so couldn't happen". this condition is called recidivism. basically, as a younger fellow, i devoured these books staying up till i'd see the sun cutting through the slats of my bamboo blinds only to sleep through first, second and third periods hours later. i reckon it's something as simple as exposure and reality that make it difficult to enjoy the likes of king or straub anymore. for me, reminiscence makes this hard given i have more sentimentality in my body than i have water. and, because of this i too occasionally venture to my roots in attempt to experience this sense of youth once again. all that doesn't matter though because after reading this quasi-respectable effort for its genre, i'm totally done. for good. baked. i swear. never again. and i could'nt mean this any more than i do. see you in a couple of years.
		The Moviegoer Walker Percy 04.2002 i remember a professor once waxing on about when reading or writing significant literature, every angle, sentence and even word should matter and be carefully selected and crafted. after attempting this a time or a hundred i concluded it unreasonable and discarded the advice as pedantic nonsense. my process became one of throwing buckets of words on a stack and pointing to the tangible pile in the morning, clapping my hands and exclaiming "all done." then, later, i would read someone else's pile of words, like percy here, and see how mud hut my construction appeared in contrast. and then even later you finally get what that doddering old prof was prattling on about. moviegoer's creation came from such loins and each angle, sentence and word carries imagery and observation and in the end you not only see the world but also feel it and know it with unexpected realism and clarity. simply, percy's skillful use of language should leave you dumbfounded. but allow me to qualify that by adding in order to get dumbfounded one must slow down their mind and read in an almost tantric state, letting the words move them and not the other way around as is our compulsion. because when absorbed properly it's like riding atop a verbal mosh pit and someone keeps grabbing your ass.
		Mall Eric Bogosian 04.2002 hmmm. what to say? something positivish. something reasonable. something not scathing. well, the cover's kind of cool.
		The Bonfire fo the Vanities Tom Wolfe 03.2002 bonfire is a schizophrenic read in that the deep and numerous characters keep this work moving all over the scale. one minute you're in the head of a crack dealer and the next in the pants of a money marrying trollop from the south. if you elect to read this i suggest taking long pauses in your day to spend in its pages else you may find yourself spending as much time recalling what circle of society your currently visiting as you do actually reading the text. overall bonfire tells an entertaining story but smacks of a lot of work ingesting it.
		Survivor Chuck Palahniuk 02.2002 the only movie i have watched more than american beauty in the last six months is fight club. for this reason one should not be shocked to hear that every word read in this book, from the maker of fight club, rang out in my mind in edward norton's lazy jack-drawl. this author, whose name i cannot pronounce, writes in a melodic and prancing style that soothes me while crafting sentences and thoughts that hijack my mind forcing it down thoroughfares without the owner and operator's permission. this author who i simply call chuck, or charles out of respect, left me singing his words in my head, again.
		Holidays on Ice David Sedaris 01.2002 Sedaris is to Christmas as Phillip Roth is to adolescent angst. And, if I have to explain, you most likely wouldn't understand and I'm not going to be the one to make you. Suffice it to say, this book _will_ make you laugh. If it does not, I'll buy you lunch. Now, I won't eat this lunch with you because it would be blindingly apparent to me that you are one of the lamest and thickest humans scraping around this planet but for this I will buy you lunch and because of this, you will eat it alone.
		The Fellowship of the Ring J.R.R. Tolkien 01.2002 this series is not as much a trilogy as it is a single and continuous tale that is divided between three novels, which i am now a third of the way through. for this reason the experience does not seem complete nor satisfying in that it essentially ended in the middle of a sentence. all that hype and suck. too much hype and suck. the first word to enter my mind upon reading the last line of this story: suck. the second thought to run through my mind wondered how they would handle this 'suck' ending in the movie because if they did it by the letter, they would have left a lot of patrons thinking suck. (i've since seen the film, and they did make applicable adjustments). unfortunately, i'm afraid i'm a victim of this novel's legend and received less than i expected and for this reason am left in a lackluster mood. perhaps the second and third installments will correct this patina left on my opinion. otherwise i will have more suck-ridden pieces to write.
		Cold Dog Soup Stephen Dobyns 11.2001 There's a girl in my computer class who recently told a story about how she and a friend, while driving down the road, ran over and killed a dog. It's not a new tale but in her telling she couldn't help but laugh uncontrollably throughout the narrative. I mean she was in absolute hysterics and repeatedly said, "I know I shouldn't be laughing, but it was just so damn funny I can't help it." The girl who finds humor in running over man's best friend would enjoy this book. I did not.
		Les Miserables Victor Hugo 11.2001 Like chess the written word has infinite possibilities, there are countless ways to describe any one moment. Of these possible options each and every instance falls onto a continuum of efficacy. It is this continuum that divides great authors from the pedestrian. It is no secret that Hugo danced on the very precipice of this scale mostly through his specialty; character development. He masterly accomplishes in a few lines what some attempt to achieve in complete works. Of the countless characteristics or observations that can be conveyed, he had the ability to focus on the meaningful points that brought you ever closer to his characters. By the end of this lengthy tome I feel as though I would recognize Jean or Cossette should I run into them on the street. In fact, one day after reading on the way to work, I found that, without even being fully aware, I was crying as I walked down the sidewalk towards my building. By my evaluation, that there is some mighty fine storytelling.
		Lucky Jim Kingsley Amis 07.2001 So this book did not strum my funny bone the same reading it ten years later. But, I can explain. First, the story takes place on a university campus among some of the most pretentious and pedantic types known. When meeting this book for the first time, that was my life and therefore it spoke to me in a very intimate way. Having left that environment and many of its occupants behind, I no longer see myself planted in its pages. Lucky Jim also deals with the dating game, yet another arena I haven't frequented in many years, although it did take me back to more than one memory. Lastly, and what will still make me call this an overly enjoyable book deals with the main character lucky Jim Dixon. Now luck, then and now, is something I am very familiar with and not a shred of that humor was lost on me. Bottom line, if you're not at university, in the dating melee or a very lucky person, this British comedy may not whisper secrets in your ear like it did mine and you may therefore not enjoy it as much as I. Buyer beware.
		The Godfather Mario Puzo 07.2001 I deprived myself of this encapsulating tale long enough to forget enough to make the second trip through almost, almost, as enjoyable as the first. With the exception of the ten pages dedicated to Lucy Mancini's vaginal reconstruction surgury (which surprisingly did not make it into either of the first two films), this tale is literary wizardry. And, if I could discern the significance behind Mancini's medical miracle, I may even appreciate those ten pages.
		Gates of Fire: An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae Stephen Pressfield 07.2001 Gates portrays a mindset most people will never embrace and an era virtually none can conceive. The situations and imagery conveyed here are unfathomable to me and my mind is impotent to divine such a world on its own. Given this mental limitation, I consumed Pressfield's account of what was certainly a unique moment in man's evolution and growth. When the Spartan king lost use of his left arm due to a severed tricep, his shield was strapped to his torso and he returned to the battlefield to fight beside his blood-caked troops. I once stayed home from school for two days because of a festering blemish on the tip of my nose. Like I said, inconceivable to me.
		Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire (book 4) J.K. Rowling 06.2001 This is the best of the series, for multiple reasons. Rowling outdoes herself here and certainly outpaces any expections for this, her fourth in the potter series. She obviously has immunity to whatever funk gets in people's heads after initial success because not only do her books continue in their original vein and sincerity, they seem to improve exponentially in their readibility. The true test for her will be the pending cinema production and if she can continue her craft without letting the ancillary movie efforts cloud her creativity. Secondly, I'm a huge fan of what J.K. is doing for the reading movement on this planet in not only getting kids flipping the pages again, but offering a rather hefty tome (733 pages) as to let young minds not be intimidated by larger works.
		The Heart is a Lonely Hunter Carson McCullers 05.2001 Ok, I need to start by saying I totally got screwed on this book. For any who may not know me or my proclivities, I'm absolutely maniacal when it comes to going in blind on anything enterainment based. In locating the image of this book for this site, I went to amazon and while obtaining it read one sentence of some verbiage in the content area. Wouldn't you know that this one sentence was a 'describe this book in thirty words or less making sure to ruin the ending' kind of sentence. I was absolutely raving. Raving, but not mad in the sense that I'd let the ridiculously foolish act of one person deny me a story written by a woman named Carson. Historically I've not been a fan a female novelist, nothing sexist here, I just can better relate to the prattling-ons of my fellow tripods, but was very impressed with this Carson's Stienbeckian storytelling and eye for the pedestrian. She painted some memorable instances of freaks in an age before my own. Freaks have come a long way. And, thanks for the text and reccomendation Buddy James.
		The Fourth K Mario Puzo 02.2001 Nothing too sexy going on in this novel. It reads as much like a Clancy novel as anything else. But, the story is quick and entertaining. I would recommend this for anyone looking for a fast, light and enjoyable read to kill a weekend.
		The Autobiography of Malcolm X Alex Haley 02.2001 This is a powerful book. This is a very powerful book. I have never partaken in a more sincere account of a man's inner and public struggle. If the experiences of Malcolm the pauper, the player, the prisoner, the puppet, the brother and finally the sacrifice, do not touch you, black or white, you are not a reasonable individual.
		All Quiet on the Western Front Erich Maria Remarque 01.2001 Oh to be part of a coddled and privileged generation, floating through our war-eligible years without getting called up stands as quite a boon (for myself and country alike). Because, if a doubt exists in your mind that I would not be the Saving Private Ryan guy frozen and crying in the stairwell, remove it now. And, while I know I can make observations on Western Front like "he made it feel like you were right in the fracas" or "boy, I can just hear the tanks chugging over the hill", I cannot forget that I offer this learned opinion reading, writing and sitting in my chair and a half, fire popping in the hearth and gulping peanut m&m's by the gross. So, for us layman, this compact story of one man's war-time experience presents a concise glimpse into a life that is not our own. And, if nothing else, assures us that it is not a romantic or heroic life, just one rife with fear, agony and the desperate drive to survive. But, on the other hand, if you polled the average American, many would report similar emotions in their daily machinations, the only difference being one is justified and one is not. And, no matter who or how many people would argue the point of relativity, it is not, in any way, relative.
		The Invisible Man Ralph Ellison 12.2000 Typically when I read a book from the MLA top 100, I can see why it's there, whether I agree or not. Not only is this book in the top 100, it is high in the top 100. I'm not certain on what basis though. While I found it to contain a unique tale, I found the plot scattered and unlikely. Furthermore, this book is to politics what Lolita is to sex…There's plenty of it in there, but no direct reference to it in the language. This most likely represents my majority reason for struggling through the piece in that I know more about feminine hygiene products than I do about politics. Can you say no prayer.
		The War of the Worlds H.G. Wells 12.2000 Possibly, the most amazing aspect to this novel rest in its timeless nature. That Wells crafted this tale in 1898, same as his Time Machine, simply boggles the mind. I guess its dated nature explains why this has such a different feel from modern day sci-fi. There is a simplicity to the narrative style which sincerely conveys the primitive nature the human race would truly assume given such an event. You just don't get that feel with Bruce Willis behind the helm or nuclear weapons in the equation.
		Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (book 3) J.K. Rowling 10.2000 I read an account of someone bashing Potter for it's ill representation of women/girls in the series. This stands as one of the more absurd dings against this fairly controversial series. I mean seriously, it is written by a woman and the main female character is also the smartest, hyper-smart actually, not to mention the voice of reason. If the detractors of Potter cannot do better than this, they should capitulate the battle.
		The Harried Leisure Class Stephen B. Linder 09.2000 Harried represents the work of a Swedish intellect who set out to observe a technologically advanced society (us) and the ramifications our evolution had on our lifestyle. The assumed postulate has always been "technology evolves culture" providing benefits and amenities not available to primitive peoples. Done. So what happened? Why so many abject and woeful people? According to Linder, too many goods and not enough time to play with all the toys. In a society with a lot of product, before you may consume, you must produce and in order to produce, others must consume. We have us a vicious little circle here. But, ultimately the lesson smacks of high school grammar, we all know how it works, we just don't know the rules.
		The Invisible Man H.G. Wells 08.2000 Wells, again, demonstrates that his mind rode on the creative concord of his time. This story is very authentically told with an extraordinary eye for the details given the extraordinary scenario. There is no question that imaginative abilities like this are not pedestrian. The only flaw resides in the fact that this scientist was smart enough to make his internal organs and skin invisible but did not have a convention to garner transparent apparel. Our hero therefore has to wander the streets of winter-time London buck naked. Thought of everything but the clothes. Damn the details!
		The Count of Monte Christo Alexandre Dumas 06.2000 Hmmm. This was touted as the revenge story to pummel all revenge stories. If speaking of simple duration, I would concur, but if these sage reviewers are speaking of true visceral revenge, I doth contest. Due to the longish nature of the book one certainly feels the pain that comes from loss of time. But, as for good ole medieval payback, I'm afraid it falls short. Now what act serves suitable in this scenario? I'm afraid one who has not endured such trauma is capable of inventing the requisite recompense, but I do know that you would much rather have the count on your ass than Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus.
		Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (book 2) J.K. Rowling 04.2000 I'm a little surprised there isn't a greater stink about these novels that there is. Or should I say, lesser books have been attacked with greater vigor. Given the amount of adolescent violence and mayhem portrayed tags the book as a non-American based work. I just don't think it would fly here post columbine, etc. And, I read where this series is credited with single-handedly getting kids in the library again. Whoo-Hoo!
		Brave New World Aldous Huxley 04.2000
		Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (book 1) J. K. Rowling 03.2000 Good young adult fiction is as rare as above par science fiction. Therefore, when something sound comes out, people consume it like repeat ticket buyers in line for Titantic. Rowling creates an engrossing tale here. The world she has created possesses enough detail and creativity to keep the story moving and enjoyable.
		An American Tragedy Theodore Dreiser 03.2000 Let me first say that this book has been the best I've read in some time. Based on an actual criminal record this psychological tour de force compels one, if the reader elects, to perform some crafty mental gymnastics. The very discussion got me in quite a banter session at a dinner party - sorry for demonstrating empathy towards someone who is not me. I can admit that this tale touched me due to parallels I drew to my own past and would not expect it to touch others similarly, especially women. However, I am comfortable asking nay-sayers to hold any diatribes until you walk in the birkenstocks of the accused.
		Battlefield Earth L. Ron Hubbard 02.2000 Hubbard's opus makes The Stand read like a USA Today article. I'm hip to and respect the literary technique of forcing a reader through a long journey to emulate a long journey, but I'm not seeking high literary prowess out of the likes of Scientology's father. It took me about four cracks at this tome to finally cap it for good. But, on its side, the movie makes the book look like one of man's greatest contributions to the arts.
		For Whom the Bell Tolls Ernest Hemingway 01.2000 The plot of this book is basic…the storytelling is not. Hemingway's ability to describe a moment is so powerful and the image so vivid, you may think it your own memory. I always marveled at a great writer's ability to describe something as simple as a man lighting a cigarette and you don't picture someone you've seen lighting a cigarette, but instead perfectly visualize Hemingway's guy lighting a smoke.

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