Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury

I constantly reread this book. It tops my list because it makes me angry. By the end I'm reminded why I struggle to stay educated. A book about burning books - banned itself. I love real-life irony. In the same vein as 1984 and Brave New World, it feeds my general anger at the purposeful "dumbing-down" of America. If you read any book on this list, read Fahrenheit 451, and then tell me how you reacted to it. (Note: 451 degrees Fahrenheit is the temperature at which paper burns.)

P.S. I got my mommie to read it and she liked it. :)

Ragtime, by E. L. Doctorow

This book is particularly intruiging to me, as much of the story takes place in my home town of New Rochelle. Reading about trolley tracks running through streets I drive through every day provides a sense of history of my own home. When I was a child, I saw movies in the theaters along the Main Street strip. Whether apocryphal or not, reading about Harry Houdini performing in these theaters brought back memories of my own, and something new. I felt connected to these events, and E.L. Doctorow gives life back to buildings that now lay dormant. This having been said, the story shouldn't be any less interesting to anyone else.

E.L. Doctorow's ability to combine famous people of the era with his own fictional characters is so well done that you can't tell whether people, places or events are real or from Doctorow's imagination. You'll be so enchanted it won't matter.

Watership Down, by Richard Adams

Breakfast Of Champions, by Kurt Vonnegut

Absolutely, a fantastic book. Kurt Vonnegut is funny, poignant and intelligent. His writing style is truly unique. In my opinion, this book is his best. Whatever you do, don't skip to the end.

If you like, read Slaughterhouse-Five and Cat's Cradle.

Johnathan Livingston Seagull, by Richard Bach

This first-rate short read is a reminder that even in the face of complete disagreement, anything is possible. Really.

Shardik, by Richard Adams

I read Shardik without a clue about its contents. I've got a large, brown, hardcover copy that didn't come with the original jacket, so I didn't even have a synopsis to read. You just gotta read it. Did you ever see the movie The Usual Suspects? If you tried to explain too much of it, you could really detract from the greatness of the film. Same thing here. It would be a disservice to tell you what's on the path before you get to it.

I'll give you this much. Read it if any of the following apply to you:

• You like stories with superbly detailed and believable cultures
• You like quest-style adventures
• You like stories that take people to the depths of despair
• You can handle a bit of non-gratuitous violence for the sake of a potentially excellent reading experience
• You like any of his other work
• You know how to read, or know someone who does

This is the only book I'm asking you to take a chance on with very little information. Please take my advice, and just start reading Shardik. If I know you, I'll loan you my copy.

Last Update: 6 October 1997