MARTY BECKERMAN1984, by George Orwell
A benchmark in human thinking. Orwell will outlive your grandchildren.
All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque
A fictionalized memoir from a German WWI veteran. Its antiwar sentiments might be overly idealistic, but this was one of the first books to eradicate the glorious myths of war. Also explores how elites brainwash young people into serving as tools for their own ends. And that dripping wet sex scene is pretty freakin' hot.
Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
The most prescient book ever written. Astonishing that Huxley wrote this in 1932, as it uncannily predicts the soullessness of present-day American culture. And those Alpha Teenager sex scenes are pretty freakin' hot.
Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card
Widely acclaimed as one of the best science-fiction novels of all time. Explores a future in which six-year-old kids are recruited for military service. No sex scenes because the author is a Mormon, but read the book anyway. Just stay clear of the sequels, for the love of Christ.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, by Hunter Thompson
Gonzo journalism's defining moment, and the pinnacle of (my old hash buddy) Hunter Thompson's career. This book explores the cultural breakdown of the 1960s in an insanely captivating style, and remains supremely relevant today, as Americans are caught between far-right and far-left dogmatism.
Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley
A book of endless depth, especially considering that Shelley was only 19 years old at the time. Maybe she's the original one-hit-wonder young author who only got a publishing deal thanks to family connections.
Less Than Zero, by Bret Easton Ellis
The closest Ellis ever came to writing a great book, although American Pyscho is up there too. Nobody can set this one down without feeling total hopelessness for the human race, but the ride is sickeningly enjoyable.
Lord of the Flies, by William Golding
Piggy has the coolest death scene in all literature, possibly excluding the New Testament.
Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
Spanning a year in the life of an emotionally distraught 15-year-old boy, this one is a real heartbreaker. It's also funny, wise and touching -- one of those books that everyone loves. And the author is a genuinely awesome guy in person.
The Virgin Suicides, by Jeffrey Eugenides
Very weird, very surreal and very good. Another one of those books without a happy ending, but if that's what you want, check out the fucking Christian romance section the next time you're in your local bookstore. Because those are the hottest freakin' sex scenes of all.
Honorable Mention: Beneath the Axis of Evil, by Neal Pollack
Neal is a very funny man. This book makes me laugh. Can I please have my family back now, Mr. Pollack? Yes, yes, akbar Allah, yes, yes!
Marty Beckerman is the author of Generation S.L.U.T.
*** JESSA CRISPIN
Lanark, by Alasdair Gray
Shame, by Salman Rushdie
Troubles, by J. G. Farrell
Birchwood, by John Banville
Of Human Bondage, by W. Somerset Maugham Dubliners by James Joyce (technically short stories, but they play off of one another, and each one is so essential as part of the group that it feels like a novel)
Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte
If On a Winter's Night a Traveler, by Italo Calvino
Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov
Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy
Jessa Crispin is editor-in-chief of Bookslut.
*** NED VIZZINI
1. Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
People kill me for this, but what can I say? I turn to it every year. It has more in it about America, entertainment, law, science, politics, the human dilemma and the state of the world than any other book I own. Plus dinosaurs eat people every few pages. I think it's like Moby Dick, but better.
2. 1984, by George Orwell
I could pick A Clergyman's Daughter as well when it comes to Orwell. But this is a terrific mix of action and lesson and I'm glad Orwell finished it before he died.
3. Everything Is Illuminated, by Jonathan Safran Foer
I claim this guy. He was born in 1977 and I claim him for my generation. He's a genius. "The Dial" chapter, in parciular, is perfection.
4. It, by Stephen King
Best book about childhood I've ever read.
5. Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson
The invention of the computer needed a myth. Thanks to Mr. Stephenson we have it. Not the best, but the most rewarding book I have ever read.
6. Hatchet, by Gary Paulsen
YA that puts A to shame.
7. Oracle Night, by Paul Auster
His most recent might be his best. Great exploration of the telescoping story. This slot almost went to Don Delillo and White Noise, which I just read but since I just read it, maybe next year.
8. Satyricon, by Petronius
Deathless humor.
9. Sphere, by Michael Crichton Half this list could be Crichton. He has a special section in my shelves. But this is my girlfriend's favorite.
10. Preacher, by Garth Ennis
A graphic novel. That's gotta count. The most twisted reimagining of Christian myths ever to get printed, featuring god's personal assassin, the retarded offspring of Jesus, a eunuch Mafiosi, a meat fetishist, vampire, and a Kurt Cobain wannabe... just too much.
Ned Vizzini is VP of operations at SquipWorks, America's leading producer of squip software. He is also the author of the upcoming novel Be More Chill and, previously, Teen Angst? Naaah..., which is popular among America's dorks and rejects. His base of operations is Nedvizzini.com.
*** RON HOGAN
The Anubis Gates, by Tim Powers
Who couldn't love a novel in which a poetry professor travels back in time, then gets stuck in the 19th century, THEN gets caught up in an Egyptian sorceror's efforts to revenge the Crusades with a brainwashed homunculus of Lord Byron?
The Big Nowhere, by James Ellroy
The novel that came between The Black Dahlia, Ellroy's breakthrough work, and L.A. Confidential, his most famous, this has the characters and the scenes that have stuck with me the strongest over the years.
The Devil Wears Wings, by Harry Whittington
In my early twenties, when I nurtured dreams of directing films, I was totally gung-ho about adapting this pulp masterpiece in which a washed-up pilot is hired by thieves to fly their getaway plane, then starts to get ideas of his own, with predictably disastrous results.
Forty Lashes Less One, by Elmore Leonard
Sort of a halfway point between Leonard's westerns and contemporary crime novels, this story, set in a Yuma prison at the turn of the twentieth century, is one of his most tightly plotted tales--and in his case, that's really saying something.
The Happy Island, by Dawn Powell
It's actually hard to choose a favorite among Dawn Powell's New York satires, all of which are just about equally brilliant. (Imagine Sex and the City with a genuine literary sensibility.) But characters from this one kept popping up when I tried to recall which of her works I liked the best, so here you go.
Masks of the Illuminati, by Robert Anton Wilson
Half-remembered scenes from this novel, which I first read when I was maybe 15 or 16, still give me goosebumps nearly 20 years later. Einstein and Joyce grapple with Aleister Crowley to save a man's soul...and in a pastiche of Ulysses, to boot. I reread it maybe every five years or so.
Master and Commander, by Patrick O'Brian
Really I could have just filled up the whole list with installments in the Aubrey-Maturin saga, but I figured Bob might want a little more variety. Just start here and don't stop until you've got through them all.
Roadwork, by Stephen King (as Richard Bachman)
The other novel I obsessively nurtured hopes of adapting for film. No supernatural elements, but King's depiction of deteriorating psychological conditions has rarely been stronger. I'd pit this against anything Updike wrote as a portrait of the 1970s.
The Savage Girl, by Alex Shakar
At first, I wasn't going to pick anything that I'd actually read as preparation for a Beatrice interview, but Shakar's novel is such a perfect example of how to do social comedy in the 21st century that I couldn't resist.
The Slide Area, Gavin Lambert
As with Powell, I really wasn't sure which of Lambert's novels I wanted to put down, but scenes from this inevitably come up when I try to recall what I admire most about his stories about life on the fringes of Hollywood. Hard to find, but you should definitely haunt used bookstores until you do.
Ron Hogan blogs about books and the publishing industry at Beatrice.com.
*** JADE WALKER
1. Outlander, by Diana Gabaldon
2. The Eight, by Katherine Neville
3. American Gods, by Neil Gaiman
4. Anne of Green Gables, by L.M. Montgomery
5. A Drink Before The War, by Dennis Lehane
6. Bag of Bones, by Stephen King
7. Rape: A Love Story, by Joyce Carol Oates
8. One for the Money, by Janet Evanovich
9. Guilty Pleasures, by Laurell K. Hamilton
10. The Man Who Ate the 747, by Ben Sherwood
Jade Walker prefers novels that contain well-written, fast-paced stories and intriguing characters in romantic and/or murderous situations. She currently lives in Seattle, where she's writing vampire romance novels and running The Blog of Death.
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