good books

• Slaughter House 5 or the Children's Crusade-Kurt Vonnegut-an anti-war book. it's about the fire bombing of Dresden in WWII, with a bunch of other good stuff thrown in. Given current events, i think everyone should read this and catch-22. i don't see how you can be for war after reading these books.
• Cat's Cradle-Kurt Vonnegut-I can't tell you much about this book without giving alot of it away(it's theme is religion), but go read it, you'll love it. Actually, go read anything by Vonnegut, he's the man!
• The Giver-Lois Lowry-It's about a society of total conformity. It's a great book, with a good underlying meaning.
• The Bell Jar-Sylvia Plath-It's about a girl in NYC. It's basically an autoboigraphy of Plath's nervous breakdown and suicide attempt, but it's really good.
• The Catcher in the Rye-J.D. Salinger-It's a classic, I shouldn't have to say anything more than the title. Probably the definitive coming of age book
• Lord of the Rings-J.R.R. Tolkien-It's only the greatest fantasy series of all time, plus it's a lot deeper than you'd think.
• To Kill a Mockingbird-Harper Lee-Again, a classic, there's not much more I can say than just the title.
• The Wheel of Time series-Robert Jordan-In my opinion, the second best fantasy series ever, it's insanely huge, but worth it.
• Anything by Elizabeth Wurtzel-I haven't been able to find her book Prozac Nation-Young and Depressed in America anywhere, but I've read her essay Parental Guidance Suggested, and it was great.
• The Return of the Native-Thomas Hardy-My entire senior class hated this book, but I thought it was quite good.
• Alice in Wonderland-Lewis Carol-It's not a kids book like you'd think. AND IT'S NOT ABOUT DRUGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's a political satire of England.
• Great Expectations-Charles Dickens-I didn't like it when I first read it, but looking back, it's really good. Just make sure you read the original ending instead of the second one. The second, newer one is total crap.
• Ethan Frome-Edith Warton-Most of you will think this is boring, but the ending is perfect.
• Catch-22 -Joseph Heller-This is the flat out funniest book i've ever read, but at the same time, parts of it are so sad. Another anti-war book. It shows how absurd war is, and how those in charge can't really care about their subordinates. Yossarian may seem insane, but it's just because he's actually so logical(his enemy is anyone who is going to get him killed, whether it's the germans shooting at him, or his superiors sending him on missions).
• The Great Gatsby-F. Scott Fitzgerald-A book about love and living in the past. Great read, and it's short, so it shouldn't take too long.
• Slapstick-Kurt Vonnegut-The concept of this book is way out there(artificial extended families, and the end of the world), but it basically deals with loneliness.
• Hocus Pocus-Kurt Vonnegut-This is about a prison break. The escaped prisoners cross the lake and take over a college. The basic theme is about how humans try to control everything they can, and how maybe we shouldn't.
• Dead-Eye Dick-Kurt Vonnegut(see a trend emerging?)-About a boy who accidently becomes a double murderer(don't worry, i didn't give anything away that the author doesn't). It's about loss of innocence.
• The Metamorphosis-Franz Kafka-About a guy who wakes up and he's a huge bug. It deals with the theme of alienation. It's really short, more of a novella than a real book, but size doesn't matter!
• Brave New World- Aldous Huxley- Oh Ford this is a good book (read it and you'll understand that). It's about how technology can take over for humans, and how that's not a good thing. The book is rather funny up til the last 2 chapters. the second to last chapter is mind-blowing when you try to consider everything they talk about. And when you think you know what's up, the ending of the last chapter kick you in the nuts (or ovaries, which ever you have).
• Far From the Madding Crowd-Thomas Hardy-Hardy's optimistic novel, this one centers around a women named Bathsheba and 3 men in her life. Not as good as The Return of the Native, but a good read none the less.
• The Unbearable Lightness of Being-Milan Kundera-Probably the best book i've ever read. There's not enough room here to discuss everything this books talks about, but it covers an unbelieveable number of topics. Most people probably won't like this one though, because it's a lot of philosphy, and it doesn't have much dialogue. Regardless, this is an incredible book, and one everyone should read.
• Player Piano-Kurt Vonnegut-This is his first book, and as such not quite as good as the others, but even sub-par Vonnegut is better than half the stuff out there. This book has a great anti-technology theme. Machines make life easier, yes, because they are slaves, but humans have to compete with the machines for job(and meaning in their life) and by competeing with slaves, they become slaves themselves.
• Breakfast of Champions-Kurt Vonnegut-This is vintage Vonnegut. The themes of this book cover everything, from race to sex to pollution to guns to mental illness. The pictures (which Vonnegut drew himself) are hillarious. This book is sure to offend alot of people, but maybe that's the point.

• Harry Potter books-J.K. Rowling-I know i'd prolly get my arse kicked by a bunch of people for recommending these books, but i don't care. They may not be as epic (or quite as good) as Lord of the Rings, but you don't always want something epic and deep. Sometimes you just want something entertaining and well-written, and these fall into that category.
• High Fidelity-Nick Hornby-the movie is based on this book, and the movie is one of my favorite movies. this is an incredible insightful book, demonstrating a huge understanding of why guys act the way they do (trust me, most of the time we don't know why we do what we do)
• a prayer for owen meany-John Irving-probably number 2 on my list of all time best books i've read. this book is so funny, and so tragic. Give him back!
• the sirens of titan-Kurt Vonnegut-This is about a man who travels through the universe to find the meaning of life, and the meaning of life is a huge surprise. his second book, straight science fiction, but an excellent read
• God Bless you, Mr. Rosewater-Kurt Vonnegut-Eliot Rosewater, who is in other Vonnegut books, is the main character in this book dealing with greed, among other things. definetly one of my favorite vonnegut books
• Happy Birthday, Wanda June-Kurt Vonnegut-a play by vonnegut. very easy to read, and well worth it. vonnegut's objection to the code hero
• high fidelity-nick hornby-one of my favorite movies, the book is every bit as good