here are some things i've read also you should too.

Again, as I am as the French say, "Lazy As Le Shit", here's another post from my class blog entitled "Shit I want to Read/Have Read and Think You Should Read". ENJOI.

So here's some shit I read/want to read. 

I feel like I should mention, first and foremost, my reading tastes! I like character centric material; where the "plot" is non-existant outside the main character and we, as readers, largely analyze them. 

Disclaimer that obviously this is my personal tastes and rambling and when I say "THIS IS OBVIOUSLY THE BEST BOOK EVER" it's subjective. I figured you already knew that but I hate how entitled I come off talking about my favorite books. Hurrr. 

Also I want to marry Virginia Woolf, no biggie smalls. 

RECOMMENDED: 

• VIRGINIA WOOLF. The only reason my "serious" stuff comes across the way it does is because of her. She isn't an "easy" read by any means; you definitely need time to get into her but if you want to devote the time into studying her style. . . uhhh you should. A good starting point is "Flush" (an autobiography about Elisabeth Barett Browning's cocker spaniel) and right now I'm working on "Orlando" which. . . I don't know how to explain. Wikipedia it. "Jacobs Room" is kind of an old school "Catcher In The Rye" (guy is in school, he goes and thinks about stuff) and pretty 'easy' if you're not deep reading. Her collection of short stories isn't bad either. 
• BRET EASTON ELLIS. A 'contemporary classic', I guess, he wrote "American Psycho" which GOOD LORD IS GRAPHIC AS ALL HOLY HELL BE CAREFUL but SO GOOD. Like, I had to take a walk and re-evaluate myself after reading it. He also wrote a "Catcher In The Rye" sort called "Less Than Zero", again, about a guy in school who thinks about stuff. Some of his other stuff is honestly a little meh, but those are the two I know and appreciate. 
• KURT VONNEGUT. He is hilarious and sad and confusing and so fucking realistic while encompassing these things. . . even occasional sci-fiish twists! HE'S SO AWESOME. He of course wrote "Slaughterhouse Five" but I really enjoyed "God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater". 
• JD Salinger. We have a weird relationship, Salinger and I. I love him but I hate some of his characters. His prose is excellent and his tone is very reflective of the time he lived in. "Catcher In The Rye" is a must. 
• Sylvia Plath. Excellent poet and writer. Don't read her when you're sad; you'll get sadder and probably stick your head in an oven. Read any of her poetry or "The Bell Jar". 
• William Faulkner. Because the word "haunting" has never singularly described a writing style so well. "As I Lay Dying" will confuse you and make you feel things you didn't know you could feel. Or at least I did. 
• John Steinbeck. He's a staple, and like Salinger, he's worth it if only as what I assume to be a perfect example of what tone and style during his era was. Fair warning that any of his stuff is kind of slow and then sort of. . . punches you in the last 30 pages/the last paragraph on the last page. "Grapes of Wrath" and The Winter of Our Discontent".
• Sarah Kane is a playwright, not a novelist or an essayist, but her stuff is really good/terrifying/depressing. I've read "Crave" and. . .some of her other short plays I can't remember the titles of. Good if you like fragmentation; which is neat in creating a  different reading experience for each person. 

Also Harry Potter. Obviously. 

I'll add more to this as I think of it. I'm kind of drawing a blank now that I'm sitting down and trying to figure out what I'd recommend to people. Blah blah blah I'm in love with Virginia Woolf. 

I know it's probably not the best thing to say, but I feel like I should mention it even if it isn't reading because it's had a huge impact on my writing. Stand up comedy is the only reason I'm the obnoxious twat I am today, or people seem to be under the misguided illusion I'm "funny". Especially if the writing is clever and intelligent! It's good for you! I love me some Patton Oswalt. He's excellent and was also an English major! Fun facts! 

MEANWHILE. 

So here's the stuff I want to read! 

I'm going to copy-paste some summaries from wikipedia/google because I FORGET. 

Hunger. 
"The novel has been hailed as the literary opening of the 20th century and an outstanding example of modern, psychology-driven literature. It hails the irrationality of the human mind in an intriguing and sometimes humorous novel." 

The Flame Alphabet. 
"A terrible epidemic has struck the country and the sound of children’s speech has become lethal. Radio transmissions from strange sources indicate that people are going into hiding. All Sam and Claire need to do is look around the neighborhood: In the park, parents wither beneath the powerful screams of their children. At night, suburban side streets become routes of shameful escape for fathers trying to get outside the radius of affliction. The Flame Alphabet invites the question: What is left of civilization when we lose the ability to communicate with those we love?"

 The Miseducation of Cameron Post
"When Cameron Post’s parents die suddenly in a car crash, her shocking first thought is relief. Relief they’ll never know that, hours earlier, she had been kissing a girl.
But that relief doesn’t last, and Cam is soon forced to move in with her conservative aunt Ruth and her well-intentioned but hopelessly old-fashioned grandmother. She knows that from this point on, her life will forever be different. Survival in Miles City, Montana, means blending in and leaving well enough alone (as her grandmother might say), and Cam becomes an expert at both." 

House of Leaves.
WHO DOESN'T INTEND TO READ THIS OH MY GOD. I can't even figure out what to copy and paste about this, but here's the wikipedia. Reading the summary trips my balls off. Lord god.  

Look how cool this is. LOOK AT IT. 

I'll probably update these as I think of them. EH.