Here is a fun list of 'favorite' books by famous authors. I like this list because it is not asking what are 'the best' books, but what are the favorite books these authors have read. That makes a big difference and lets us see past the dust jacket into what makes up our popular writers.
Here is my list of favorite books. I know that if I made this list on a Thursday instead of a Sunday, the list would be different. But here goes...
Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner
The book that made me decide to be a writer… because it was hard. I threw this book across the room twice before finishing it, but I still remember being out of breath as I turned the last page.
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
The book I wanted to write most like. This man, his lesser books like ‘To Have And Have Not’ have moved me and made me feel like I actually had a connection with his mind and that the word, the sentence could be a fist.
In A Yellow Wood by Gore Vidal
I put this on as a dare to myself. I do not believe that Gore Vidal has written a novel worthy of the Top 100 list because I cannot image what would be cut to make room for… what…. Williwaw? Washington, D.C.? Julian?..... However, I have read and enjoyed more of this man’s novels than some of his contemporaries. This particular book, one of his earliest, presents us with a post-World War Two New York City that is very honest, interesting and I think denied. To work on Wall Street and live in Manhattan and to go out late at night to Times Square… to be a living breathing cell in magnificent NYC of the late 1940s and early 1950s. The lead character’s choice at the end is the complete opposite of why someone would write a novel like this in the first place… I ‘enjoyed’ it very much.
Martin Eden by Jack London
Has always been a favorite and meaningful book. It spoke to me through the artistic desires of a young, working class guy… and the ending is all too appropriate. I used to give this book as a gift.
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
One of my first examples of super-powered writing and use of the English language beyond what I knew I was capable of. I love lots of Conrad.
The Gallery by John Horne Burns
I got obsessed with the novels of vets of World War Two. This jumped to the front of the line because of the lack of American propaganda…. If that makes sense. This selection, too was kind of a dare… not to include ‘The Naked and the Dead’.
From Here To Eternity by James Jones
Again, my life long battle with Norman Mailer and my guilt for leaving him off on the face of Gore Vidal, John Horne Burns and James Jones… again, here is a writer I am in awe of.
Deliverance by James Dickey
Just trying to keep to the ‘favorite’ criteria over ‘best’. The writing in this book, at the time I read it inspired me to put pen to paper.. As I was deciding I wanted to be a real writer, -before the fucking screenplay poisoned my brain – I was reading this book.
The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler
I had heard of Chandler, but never read him until one day I was doing home work (high school) at the Philadelphia Library and saw this book. I started to read it and three hours later realized I hadn’t done anything else but read and turn pages. I had never read words used like this before… was it tough? Yes. Was he kidding? Yes. Was he serious? Yes. I loved it.
All The King's Men by Robert Penn Warren
My final book on this list took some time. I left a lot of books off… this was a book given to me by a teacher who said, “if you are serious about writing, read this.” I did and loved it for all the same reasons I loved Martin Eden and still love politicians like LBJ to this day… the old prick… and love Bill Clinton.
Books left off because of the Penn Warren choice and I wanted to keep the list at 10:
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
The Edge of Sadness by Edwin O’Connor
Song of The Lark by Willa Cather (really)
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Let us know your favorite books!
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