Good Books

I am a reading addict. There, I said it, and I hope to never recover. I carry around a bag full of books, newspapers, and magazines disguised as a briefcase. I have different books strategically placed around the house for quick reads and I am a frequent and habitual user of public libraries.

My mother says that when I was little, kids would invite me to birthday parties and I would bring a book and sit in the corner and read it. I still do that. What’s the big deal? I wake up periodically in the night and open my books to read them. I keep a whole library in my car for use in traffic. I am so near-sighted that my optometrist makes jokes about how I must be reading all day and night. I don’t let him know the truth; I just smile and act puzzled.

Books are great companions. Atticus Finch is my best friend, and when I need a traveling partner I bring Meaursault. Here are some of my favorites, in no particular order.


On The Road by Jack Kerouac

I avoid rereading this book because I am afraid that it won’t be as good. And maybe it never was as good as I though it was. But it was one of the most important books of my formative years. Like most good stories, it involves a journey with beautiful descriptions, philosophical questions, booze, women, cars and written in an amphetamine non-stop spontaneous prose that desperately deserves editing to be understood by squares. Although I prefer the anguish and situation of The Subterraneans and the poetry and description of Desolation Angels, On The Road got me on the road, literally, with my own Dean Moriarty as driver, and provided a good introduction to the characters and lifestyles of hipsterville.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

If Boo Radley was the first punk turned goth, then Huckleberry Finn was the first American punk rocker. Runs away from alcoholic dad, school, and religious caretaker, has adventures, gives corrupt society the middle finger and finally decides to do the right thing even if it means going to hell. Genius irony, great dialogue, characters, a symbolic journey and quest for freedom. Too bad the second half of the book completely sucks.

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Raskolnikov commits a murder for no good reason and then spends the rest of the novel trapped in paranoia and overwrought psychological tension. It is not an easy novel, but it is so deep and Dostoyevsky is such a good writer as he weaves his way through the psychological character profiles that it remains a smooth read. I would also recommend the Grand Inquisitor chapter from The Brothers Karamozov as essential literature.

You Can’t Win by Jack Black

This is my favorite book. It is the autobiography of Jack Black, a career criminal hobo burglar junkie who traveled the country in the late 1800’s. Jack tells the story of opium dens, Canadian prisons, saloons, stickups, train-hopping, brothels, hobo encampments and wild safecracking stories with great descriptions and insights. There is an introduction by William S. Burroughs and the cover says, “For Criminals of All Ages.” This is a must read if you are into this sort of genre and it really captures an underworld slice of history that is totally fascinating. Jack Black is a true Western hero who has written one of the greatest books of all time. “To live outside the law, you must be honest.” B. Dylan

Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut

Like any right-living person, I love almost all of Vonnegut’s books, but this one is my personal favorite because of its evil dark humor. It is the story of an American Nazi spy with a cast of unforgettable characters and brilliant irony. The lesson from this book is that “We are what we pretend to be, so be careful what you pretend to be.” For me, the darkest sections of the human heart are sometimes the tastiest and this book is tasty. It’s pretty short too.

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

It’s sad that one has to read this book hidden inside another book to avoid unpleasant looks and comments. Incredible use of language, plot twists, a journey, a twisted love story. People who avoid this book are missing out on a great American novel. I was in a graduate lit class years ago and a group of females refused to read the book and criticized the professor for including it in the syllabus. Look, just read it. It’s like enjoying a good horror movie. Guilt-free.

Books by John Krakauer

He is a great non-fiction writer of Into The Wild and Into Thin Air and other assorted stories of adventure. One book is about a kid who rejects society and goes off in to the woods, another is about an ill-fated summit of Mt. Everest and he just wrote a book about the Mormon Church which is o.k.

Punk Rock Biographies

Open up and Bleed
Lexicon Devil
Please Kill Me
We got the Nuetron Bomb
Last Gang in Town
Surviving the Ramones
Anything by Lester Bangs


Some other good or important books

The Stranger by Camus
100 years of Solitude by Marquez
A Bend in the River by Naipul
The Good Earth by Buck
All Quiet on the Western Front by Remarque
Death Comes for the Archbishop by Cather