I Can Read
Since an early age I've loved to read, so of course I have my favorites. Here's a few of them. At least, the ones I can remember right now for being huge influences.
Where The Red Fern Grows - This was the first book to ever make me emotive. It was fifth grade, and when both of the dogs died, it made me cry. I need to re-read this book someday.
The Narnia Chronicles - C.S. Lewis' masterpiece of fantasy that was the inspiration for my band name. Aslan was everything you wish you could be; wise, cool, calm, and could rip your guts out in the same stroke. I need to re-read these now that I'm older and can look at them for the theological aspects that they contain.
The Great Train Robbery - This is probably my favorite Michael Crichton book. A period piece about one of the greatest train heists in English history that occured in the 1800's. The details are magnificent and sprawling and the story leaves you spellbound. An excellent read.
The Martian Chronicles - This was my first true introduction to the world of science fiction and to the world of Ray Bradbury. Since then I've never strayed far from a copy of any of Bradbury's works, but most notably this one. I went to see him speak in Charlotte two years ago and he was just as brilliant as I always expected him to be. I now have a signed copy of "The Martian Chronicles" that I hold as one of my prize posessions.
The Complete Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - This masterpiece of comedy is the bar to which all science-fiction comedy pieces can be measured. Even the bar for which regular comedy pieces can be measured. Douglas Adams is one of the most superb comedy writers of our time and I've never read a book of his I didn't absolutely love.
Matilda - Roald Dahl is superb and this is probably his finest piece. I can still read his childrens books and be totally engrossed in them for they aren't simply limited to children. His short stories written for a more adult audience are simply stellar as well.
The Shining - My secret guilty pleasure in the writing of Stephen King is magnafied in this work. It truly scared the living hell out of me. I had the shakes reading this book all the way through. Along with " 'Salem's Lot ," I consider this to be his best I've read.
The Bonfire of the Vanities - A marvelous piece of societal commentary. It's also the book that spawned the name of my next band, should I ever get one together. (Or my solo project, if I'm ever feeling creative - for the record, it's The Social X-Rays, or in single form, Social X-Ray.) Although I haven't read anything else by Tom Wolfe, I'm ready to.
What Am I Reading Now, You Ask?
The Virgin Suicides - Jeffrey Eugenides : I saw the movie version of this (directed by Sophia Coppola) last winter and was really blown away by the film. The soundtrack is superb. (It's provided by ambient/dance band Air.) The story is incredibly breathtaking. The novel, is ten times so. The language with which Eugenides tells the story is marvelous and speaks truths you feel, but can't always place. I very highly recommend it.
My Most Recent Reads:
1. No Exit and Three Other Plays - Jean-Paul Sartre
2. Amnesia Moon - Jonothan Latham
3. The Phillip K. Dick Reader - Phillip K. Dick
4. Portrait Of An Artist, As An Old Man - Joseph Heller
5. The Cider House Rules - John Irving
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