Been writing this sorta randomly for a while. Will update whenever.
Essentials:
1. The Brothers Karamazov- captivating Russian soap opera serves as the backdrop for philosophical musings on the nature of god and man. Deeper and more complex than Crime and Punishment.
2. The Turn of the Screw- One of the first books to do psychological horror and ambiguous presentation
3. Infinite Jest- a post-postmodern exploration of addiction
4. The Doors of Perception/Heaven and Hell- Aldous Huxley does psychedelic drugs, writes about his experiences.
5. & 6. Brave New World & 1984- dueling yet complementary explorations of the notion of a dystopian future
7. Frankenstein- Frightfully boring and bloated, but the good parts and the philosophical parts have influenced pretty much all 20th century literature.
8. & 9. The Lord of the Rings & The Hobbit- essential examples of high fantasy genre, prototypical
10. Slaughterhouse Five- one of the canonical WWII books, and for good reason.
11. Cat’s Cradle- Quintessential Vonnegut. This story is him at his philosophical and creative peak.
12. Catch-22- Clever, complex, and witty, a book that will stick with you for the rest of your life, but oddly difficult to go back to afterward.
13. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn- If humanity survives another five hundred years, this book will still be the definitive example of the Great American Novel. Its importance is incomparable.
14. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay- A fictionalized account of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and the experiences of the comic book industry. But, somehow way more than that.
15. Hamlet- I’m going to be listing a lot of Shakespeare, he’s just a definitive part of literary history.
16. Othello- Racist against Jews, astonishingly progressive in regards to black people.
17. Macbeth- A bit cheesy in places, but canonically essential.
18. Richard III- His most powerful history play. See optional #11.
19. Romeo and Juliet- I assume everybody has already read this, but I feel compelled to include it.
20. Les Miserables- I wish I had finished this book. I need to get back to it once I finish school. The strongest and weakest part of it is that it’s not a story so much as a experience. The characters are almost extraneous to the book.
21. On the Road- The novel that defines the beat generation. A real hip tome.
22. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas- Blurs the lines between a novel and journalism, erring on the side of gonzo.
The Optionals:
1. The Sun Also Rises- brief read, beautiful and heartbreaking
2. House of Leaves- somewhat messy and bloated, but a surprisingly easy and engaging read.
3. The Wizard of Earthsea- An odd story, classic high fantasy “boy becomes the legendary hero”-type story, but built around a very complex and intricate world-building experience. The highlight here is not the characters, but the scenery and concepts.
4. Dracula- oddly enough, not really about vampires as much as it’s about human sexuality and xenophobia.
5. The Cthulhu Mythos- these nihilistic tales are perhaps the definitive example of “Cosmic Horror”
6. The Haunting of Hill House- fairly simple horror/psychological horror story, but fun and gripping.
7. Nuklear Age- a wacky deconstruction of the super hero genre and comic books. Full of slapstick humor and silly wordplay, but a bit uneven.
8. The Harry Potter Series- I’m not counting these as seven separate books. They’re not too deep or well-written, but their cultural impact makes them pretty important.
9. Breakfast of Champions- I wish I could put this on the essentials list, because it’s really quite an enjoyable book. Loads of fun. But, between Cat’s Cradle and Slaughterhouse Five, it doesn’t really bring anything new to the Vonnegut table. If you’ve read those other two, you get a sense of what to expect from this.
10. UFO 54-40- A silly Choose Your Own Adventure Book, but worth the half hour.
11. The Henriad/Shakespeare’s Histories- Richard III is actually the almost-end of a longer series of plays chronicling The War of The Roses. Reading all of them really fleshes out the motivations depth of the characters. Richard III in particular is a far more sympathetic character after you’ve read his story prior to ascending the throne.
12. The Winter’s Tale- Insane, dumb, delightful.
13. A Man Without a Country- Vonnegut as an old man, just having fun.
14. Kafka on the Shore- I have mixed feelings about Murakami. This book comes off as trying to be smarter and deeper than it actually is, but outside of that pretense, it’s still pretty clever and riveting. It’s just not something that will really stick with you.
15. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer- Tom Sawyer is basically the retarded cousin of Huckleberry Finn, and his presence in Huck’s book is an irritating drag. However, as a standalone story, his whimsical adventures are actually somewhat endearing. It’s also technically the first book in the Tom/Huck series.
16. Neuromancer/The Sprawl Trilogy- This is the book series that inspired the Cyberpunk genre. If you've seen The Matrix or followed literally anything sci-fi in the past 30 years, you've felt William Gibson's influences.
17. Snow Crash- Neuromancer's little brother. Released almost a decade later, it recreates the major themes of the genre in a superior literary practice, albeit with its own flaws and complications.
