Ham on Rye: A Novel127 reviews Charles Bukowski Ecco, 2007 "Was I the only person who was distracted by this future without a chance?" + Great work from a disciplined writer + When men were men + More genius from Bukowski.             The Bell Jar7 reviews Sylvia Plath Bantam Books, 1972 The Bell Jar, Reviewed by Phoebe Young + intriguing, amazing + The Descent of Eve + Locked in her own head + I loved it!             Revolutionary Road102 reviews Richard Yates Vintage, 2000 Classic tale of the suburban nightmare. + Revolutionary Writing + Makes Mad Men look like Happy Days Richard Yates' 1961 novel, "Revolutionary Road", is a classic that has taken far too long to get the recognition it deserves (considering Yates died in 1992). With the Hollywood version coming out the best way to describe this haunting novel in cinematic terms would be: "American Beauty" meets ...             The Count of Monte Cristo (Signet Classics)388 reviews Alexandre Dumas Signet Classics, 2005 Great copy of unabridged Count of Monte Cristo + The Count of Monte Cristo + It's All Good + Now I know why it's a classic + Difficult to read but well worth it.             Friday6 reviews Michel Tournier The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997 Inside Crusoe + A Study in Self Justification + white man on an island Rewriting Robinson Crusoe? Tournier tells an entirely different story, although the outward details are mostly the same as in Defoe's novel. The interest has shifted to what's going on inside Crusoe. And instead of the self-confident Christian who steadily builds up a colony, Tournier shows us a ...             Blood Meridian: Or, the Evening Redness in the West (Picador Books)1 review Cormac McCarthy Picador, 1994 A Cormac McCarthy vocabulary quiz As I read Blood Meridian, I jotted down words that were either unusual or new to me or familiar yet not quite recognizable. This is the case with every McCarthy book one reads - astonishment at the writer's extensive vocabulary. I've deliberately left out most of the directly Spanish terms or ...             The Dharma Bums (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)12 reviews Jack Kerouac Penguin Classics, 2006 Kerouac's best novel + It's Kerouac... + The Dharma Bums If you're new to Jack Kerouac, this might be the place to start. Many people's first introduction to Kerouac is On The Road. While I love On The Road, I've read pretty much all of Kerouac's novels, and I have to say that The Dharma Bums is my favorite. Indeed, I loved the book enough to write a ...             The Sportswriter106 reviews Richard Ford Vintage, 1995 sports for the mind Last night I finished reading Richard Ford's The Sportswriter. I read it a couple years after reading Independence Day. Although I didn't love Independence Day, I was curious to get back to the main character of both books, Frank Bascombe, and see what he had done earlier in his life. I think ...             The Sparrow458 reviews Mary Doria Russell Ballantine Books, 1997 wonderful + The Sparrow + brillliant introspection in outer space I have read thousands of books... This is THE best books I have ever read. I am not a religious person, I have no God, I have read the bible, the Koran and alot of other religious texts. This being said and stated above. This is a story of love, discovery, and the search for faith in the most ...             Lord of the Flies, Educational Edition3 reviews William Golding Faber and Faber, 2004 See it for what it is . . . + The Head of an Animal . . . + "All we have is the rules" Just a note that this particular book is a work of background and criticism ABOUT "Lord of the Flies" and not the novel itself, which has over 1,200 amateur reviews on Amazon.             You Can't Go Home Again36 reviews Thomas Wolfe Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 1998 Literary marvel; not for everyone + You Can't Go Home Again + It leaves you wanting more Before you read "You Can't Go Home Again," make sure you have read "Look Homeward Angel." Wolfe's novels are essentially romanticized autobiographies, and although Eugene Gant and George Weber are not exactly the same character, they both represent the author struggling with incredible but ...             Sometimes A Great Notion Ken Kesey Bantam, 1972             Still Life with Woodpecker168 reviews Tom Robbins Bantam, 1990 Amazing + Out There, but that's its charm + Amazing! + Birthday gift             One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Ken Kesey Signet, 1963             Mysteries: A Novel30 reviews Knut Hamsun Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2006 Wow. An absolute masterpiece.... + Why? + Hamsun's first Masterpiece + What's it all about? (Love) + A peculiar book from the hands of Norway's biggest author             Crime and Punishment36 reviews Fyodor Dostoevsky Vintage, 1993 Crime and Punishment + A true masterpiece + Awesome Insight into the mind and heart of a criminal + Masterful work, worthy of every accolade it's received, and worthy of accolades it has yet to receive.... + One of my favorites             The Fountainhead (Centennial Edition Hardcover)967 reviews Ayn Rand Plume, 2005 More traditionally novelistic, tells the backstory of Atlas Shrugged + Fountainhead + Why Was This Book Written? + Fairy Tale             Jesus' Son: Stories by92 reviews Denis Johnson Harper Perennial, 1993 Children of loneness + I read the first couple stories... + Aimless Days of the Addicted In Denis Johnson's stunning collection of short stories "Jesus' Son", there is an image that stays with you most of the time. This is the picture of loneness and desolation. In one of the best tales, called "Emergency", the main character whose name goes by FH and a friend drive through the ...             Journey to the End of the Night (New Directions Paperbook)94 reviews Louis-Ferdinand Celine New Directions, 2006 Great Buy + travel is useful + Bleak and yet hilarious + You Can't Ignore Genius + Razor Sharp             Rabbit, Run104 reviews John Updike Ballantine Books, 1996 A sophisticated but playful Rabbit we have! In the beginning, I was sort of depressed. the subject matter, the darkly setting, uneasy texture. However, I liked to read gradually. I loved it. And the main character of the novel is portrayed with sophisticatedly. A complex personality but somewhat amusing and certainly playful. I look forward ...