| l i t e r a t i |

One of the best things about living in NYC is the amount of reading I'm able to get done just during my subway commute. I was surprised to find that I'd gotten through more than 30 books since November 1999. Here's the list, in no particular order . . .

DON DELILLO
Underworld | White Noise | Mao II

I'm still not too sure what to think of this guy. I didn't really enjoy Mao II or White Noise all that much. It's like, I know I'm supposed to be "getting" something, but it's not coming through. Reading Underworld was a different story, though. Despite a length of 827 pages, I was able to get through the thing not once, but twice. One review states that "Masterpieces teach you how to read them, and this book is no exception." It sounds pompous, but it turns out to be true. It's elliptical prose feels detached and dreamlike, and it's often hard to follow a sentence all the way through to it's conclusion without getting lost. After the first go-round, I still hadn't decided I'd liked the book, but I found myself thinking about it for months after reading it. It reminded me of those records you hear that you don't end up liking at first, they don't make sense; but after you learn how to hear them, they up being the songs you still listen to 10 years later. This book was certainly like that. A year after finishing it, I started it again, this time able to savor it more than struggling through it. It's rhythm and tone stay with you. I guess I'm sayin: Read it. It's great.

PAUL AUSTER
New York Trilogy | Moon Palace | Hand to Mouth | Leviathan | The Music of Chance

My friend Benjamin suggested I read New York Trilogy, and boy did I get hooked on this guy. I'd seen the movie for Music of Chance (starring Mandy Patinkin, James Spader, and Charles Durning) and loved it. All this guy's books deal with themes of coincidence, serendipity, loneliness, the search for self. Boring, right? But his style is an odd amalgamation of film noir and pulp detective novels (with obvious nods to Raymond Chandler) that make his novels interesting and intriguing. Read these in the winter.

BRETT EASTON ELLIS
American Psycho | The Rules of Attraction

I'd been walking past America Psycho in stores for 3 or 4 years, always picking it up because the cover drew me in. It's such a great photograph, but I also knew that it was a grisly book about a psycho serial killer. I don't read these kinds of books. I don't mind movie violence. It doesn't get inside me. But reading implants a subject in you; it infuses you with it and has much more potential to influence you. So I stayed away from it. Then I saw the movie. Director Mary Harron (I Shot Andy Warhol) made a wise decision to focus on the book's satire and humor. And although it is pretty violent, it doesn't get too grisly, relying more on the suggestion of violence to get it's point across. The art direction is beautiful, and Christian Bale's performance spooky and hilarious. The fact that my girlfriend Chloe Sevigny is in it don't hurt none either.;-)

After watching the movie 4 or 5 times, I decided to try the book. It's extremely grisly, much more violent than the movie. It's also extremely repetitious in places. But while I was reading it, I couldn't stop thinking about it. Living , NYC, especially, sitting on the subway. checking out the Wall Street suits, wondering what this guy does when he leaves work at night. A reviewer on Amazon described the book as a narcotic, something that gets in you and leaves you feeling it's influence long after you've read it. This may not sound like a very pleasant experience, but it's an incredibly adept piece of writing.

Too bad I can't say the same for Rules of Attraction. I won't even bother pontificating on it. Don't bother with it.

MICHAEL CHABON
Wonder Boys | Werewolves in Their Youth

I read Chabon's first novel Mysteries of Pittsburgh, in 1988. I'd really enjoyed it, thought the guy was a great writer despite the novel's obvious "first novel" flaws. But Wonder Boys turned out to be one of the most entertaining books I've read in 5 years. I first read it during the 1996 Olympics, while I was chauffeuring around the CEO of Samsung Corporation. (The best job I've ever had, but that's another story). I then reread it last year. Don't let the cheesy Michael Douglas cover fool you. Earlier editions have a much cooler cover (c'mon admit it. it matters. you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, but you can certainly judge a cover by its cover) The movie was fantastic. It was little scene and largely ignored by the public, mostly due to it's poor marketing. But the faithful screenplay and fantastic cast made it one of the best movie adaptaions of a book I'd seen since Garp. You can't go wrong reading (or watching) this, especially if you've ever aspired to be a writer or a habitual pot-smoker. Read the book. See the movie. Repeat.

NICK HORNBY
High Fidelity | About a Boy

OK, so the fact that I worked in a record store for 4 years and and have been an obsessive music fan since I was 10 years old dictated that I'd love High Fidelity. But when it first came out and saw everybody reading it I was leery of it. I didn't want to read some holier-than-thou, cynical, name-dropping book written by some pompous indie-rock wanna-be. But it turned out to be sweet, keenly observed, and really human. The movie was great, if you can take it on it's own terms, but it doesn't come close to the book. Read it. Read it now.

GRAHAM GREEN
A Burnt Out Case

Being a non-practicing Catholic has always made me curious about Graham Greene. This book concerns a spiritually depleted, world-famous architect who's lost the ability to experience pleasure. He leaves his life in New York City behind to live in a leper colony in the Congo where he gradually regains his interest in life.

JOHN IRVING
A Prayer for Owen Meany

I love John Irving's books, but this is my favorite. I reread it this year, and though some of it's impact was diluted since I knew the ending, it still remains one of my all-time favorites. I've given this book to more than a few friends, and every one has come away with the same experience. It's incredibly touching, the writing is impeccable, the story unusually engaging. It might change your mind about how you feel about destiny, miracles, guardian angels, and baseball.

LEONARD COHEN
Strange Music

This is a collection on poems, excerpts from novels, and the complete collection of the songs of Leonard Cohen. It helped inspire me to write again, and rekindled my interest in poetry.

BOB DYLAN
A Biography

It took me this long to finally appreciate the music of Bob Dylan, so the requisite research was called for. As with most geniuses, turns out the guy is a real bastard. Not a likable fellow. But a hell of a songwriter and cultural icon. He had incredible energy and stamina. His creative output, especially between 1964 and 1970, was completely pure, prolific, scathing, indelible. Everytime I walk around the West Village now, I run into spots that were once his haunts . . .

ANTOINE DE SAINT EXUPERY
The Little Prince

I first read this book in Spanish when I was about 6 years old, before I moved the States. I reread it again in English a few years later, then again in French in high school. I think I read this book every few years to remind me how to maintain a childish wonder. To remember that being an adult is really quite a sad and foolish thing. This book, like Franny and Zooey, are periodic tonics that I need to keep me from throwing myself out of a window.

ALVIN TOFFLER
Future Shock

This was the first book I read when I moved to NYC. I guess I was trying to prepare myself for all the changes I was going to experience leaving the south, having a "real" job, etc. I was afraid it would be too academic, but it was a surprisingly pleasant read It examines the human reaction to the blinding pace of change since the Industrial Revolution hurled our culture into the fast-moving technological morass it has become. How's that for a well-put highfalutin' analysis?

TOM ROBBINS
Jitterbug Perfume

Another reread. This was my third time through this rollicking book. If you've never read Tom Robbins, this is the one to start with. If you have read him, but missed this one, start it today. Perfume, Sex, Immortality. New Orleans, Paris, Seattle. You can't go wrong. You'll laugh out loud, it will leave wanting to through away your deodorant, buy a bottle of cheap wine, and go ravish your significant other somewhere grassy and damp.

NICHOLAS NEGROPONTE
Being Digital

Really interesting examination of technology, written in layman's terms. This guy was part of a group at MIT that seeks to integrate computer interfaces into the most everyday objects: clothing, household appliances etc. Sounds geeky and far-fetched, but it ain't bad as far as this subject goes.

RAYMOND CHANDLER
The Long Goodbye

The only book on this list that I haven't finished. I picked it up cause I love Robert Altman's 1973 movie adaptation starring Elliot Gould. So far it's not measuring up (something that happens infrequently: the movie being better than the book).

ALAIN DE BOTTON
On Love

This guy gets described as more erudite (and British) Woody Allen. It's an entertaining enough account (or rather, dissection) of a typical relationship. Funny and intelligent, but not particularly memorable.

WALKER PERCY
Lost in the Ruins

I've read alot of Percy's novels. I'm drawn to them thinking they will provide me with some answer to a question I don't know how to ask. I look for answers, advice, guidance from his books. I pay attention. I ruminate. I try to understand, to relate. But everytime I finish one of his books, I'm left feeling that either:
a) I Didn't Get It, or
b) It's Just Not There.

TOM PERROTA
The Wishbones

Light fluff that I took to the beach. Same guy who wrote the book and screenplay for the fantastic movie Election (Mathew Broderick, Reese Witherspoon). Pleasant read about a mid-thirties musician that makes his living playing in a wedding band. Not great, but it held my attention, and it was pretty funny.

JOHN UPDIKE
Marry Me

My first John Updike novel. He's supposed to be great at capturing the experience of East Coast suburban married life. I relate to the East Coast part.

JOSEPH HELLER
Something Happened
I read Catch 22 in 1985 and loved it. Thought I'd give one of his others a try. I got halfway through. Too repetitious. Don't bother. Read )or reread) Catch 22 instead

RAYMOND CHANDLER
Call If You Need Me

Carver is one of my favorite writers. One of the premier short-story writers of this century, his writing has an incredible sparseness, economy, and precision. Most of his stories are quiet, lonely tales of marriage, divorce, alcohol, fatherhood . . . This particular collection was prepared after his death and includes previously unpublished work. It is not my favorite. I'd recommend Where I'm Calling From or any of his other collections first. Good stories to read in the fall or winter.

JD SALINGER
Franny and Zooey

This book has been as valuable a form of therapy as Calvin and Hobbes and The Little Prince. By far the best Salinger offering, (Catcher in the Rye is good, and popular, but please). You want to get some perspective on you narcissim, self-induced depression, intellectual self-righteousness, and subcultural elitism? Read this book.

STEVEN JOHNSON
Interface Culture

Read this book when I first started working as a web designer. It's interesting in that the author manages to weave interface technology with comparative literature.

JAMES KAPLAN
Two Guys From Verona

Another novel on this list (along with Marry Me, The Wishbones, Something Happened) that deals with life in the suburbs. A light read. Pretty good, but not particularly memorable.

PAULINE KAEL
For Keeps

As interested in film as I am, I didn't come across this woman's reviews until recently. Her style is extremely personal and subjective. Intelligent, engaging, infuriating, opinionated. Forget about that fat guy Ebert. Read this woman if you love the movies as an art form and as a guide for understanding your life.