this post is really long.
Dec. 27th, 2007 01:01 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
aidenfireThis post was meant to be a short list of things I'm reading. Just so you know. and instead it's turned into an incredibly rambly tale of my journey through fandom, and why the fandom path I was following has begun to get a little weedy and overrun. I guess this is sort of my I'm leaving fandom post, but I haven't been a true member of fandom in months. Post-mortem then, I suppose.
When I was young, I read all the time. Constantly, voraciously, almost obsessively. We didn't have a TV--still don't, for that matter--and I didn't get along well with my brother at the time. I spent a lot of my time alone. So, I read. I read everything I could get my hands on, and if anyone thought I stopped to consider what was age appropriate, in either content or difficulty, they were dead wrong. I read things that were both far too easy for me, and far too complex. My mom is the director of our public library, so my supply of books was near limitless. I would sit there for hours and read and read and read and then bring home bagfuls of books with me or write my mom lists of things I wanted. In middle school, I made it my goal to read four books off every shelf in our school library. Fantasy, mystery, romance, action, sports books, non fiction, fairy tales, science fiction, books for kids, books for adults, everything. I read it all. And I was smart. Oh, I was smart. Not only could I quickly grasp people's meanings, but I could phrase my own. All of the things I'd read about, all the different people and scenarios and possibilities whirled in my head and helped me decipher the world around me, and all the writing, the sheer number of words I saw, made me able to describe it. I could practically feel my brain crackling with energy, making connections, understanding.
I started reading fanfiction around the time the Lord of the Rings movies came out. I was in 8th or 9th grade, I think. I loved the world Tolkein had created, and I was desperate for more of it. I can't remember how I first found fanfiction, but found it I did, and I dove into it. And it was thrilling, all of these people writing so many stories about the characters and situations I loved so deeply. I began to get in the habit of turning on my computer when I was bored, instead of reaching for a book. Eventually, I discovered Harry Potter fanfiction as well, and that became my new passion. And I was still reading, probably just as much and just as voraciously. However, wonderful and well written as much fanfiction is (or at least the fanfiction that I read these days--certainly many of my early forays to FF.N did not yield such wonders), I've beginning to feel of late that reading continuously of the same characters, the same settings, the same premises that most fics start from has begun to wear at my mind. I haven't been forced to work for my entertainment. I already have my ideas of who Harry and Voldemort and Luna and Pansy and Snape are. I know what I think the Gryffindor common room looks like, and 12 Grimmuld Place. At the beginning, fanfiction taught me so much about what makes a good story, what does not, what is good writing, how to write something others will read, how good writing and high readership don't necessarily overlap, and how to take something you loved and make it your own. In the middle, fanfiction taught me about people--the people who wrote the stories, all the different interpretations of first the characters we all loved, but slowly moving into different interpretations of the world. I'm beginning to feel, though, that fanfiction has taught me all it has to teach me. I'm feeling the call of more distant and less familiar lands.
The point of this ramble is not to disparage fanfiction in any way, nor the people that I've met in fandom. Actually all of this replaced seven simple words I had before: I feel I should read more books. It seemed too simple at the time, but it's still the final point. To that end, my early new year's resolution is simple as well--to read more books, and to keep track of them. Not necessarily to read only Quality Works of Literature--reading should be fun and enjoyable. I would like to read more things of substance however, although I won't hold the substance-free things against myself. My tally so far.
(note: I rarely don't finish books I start, not out of any feeling of duty or something of that sort. It's simply that I read fast enough that it's not a big deal to finish or not, especially shortish books like these. I don't hold with books that you choose for your enjoyment not entertaining you and would never keep reading such a thing if it were a huge sacrifice of my time to do so.)
-Snowed In, by Rachel Hawthorne. Very very standard rom com. Nothing exceptional at all. I've read a few of her other books and enjoyed them more than I do typical rom com, but this one was subpar for her, although at par for the genre. Not particularly recommended.
-Princess Mia, by Meg Cabot. Another book I was disappointed by. There are some spoilers in this write up, but honestly nothing you wouldn't guess, so read or don't as you will. This is in Meg Cabot's Princess Diaries series, which should have ended a good three or four books ago. I really enjoy most of Meg Cabot's writing--she has a great sense of voice (If you're a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, give her Mediator series a try. A very engaging, entertaining and intriguing series with a fun premise and a great cast). However, not only did I dislike this book but it actually pissed me off. The plotline is Mia's longterm boyfriend breaks up with her. It features fantastic things like, after less than a week of laying in her room and not wanting to talk to people, her parents drag her to therapy and have her diagnosed as depressed. This is one of my pet peeves. People with a tidy room will proclaim they're OCD. People whose thoughts wander a bit declare they must be ADD. A mood swing leads to mutterings of bipolar. That irritates the shit out of me. This trivializes serious problems that cause great distress and disability. Grief and depression are not the same thing. Mia had more than enough reason to not to want to leave her room for awhile. She lost someone she loved. You don't recover from that immediately.
To make matters worse, she finds herself "cured" three or four weeks later and moving on to someone new. Jesus Christ, way to trivialize the entire premise of the whole book. If you are going to do the depression storyline, please don't use it as a plot device. If she truly were depressed and devastated at the loss of her boyfriend, as I'm sure the character would have been, she wouldn't get over it that quickly. Three weeks is not enough healing time for someone you've loved for two years. I've walked this path and in some ways seeing the disrespectful treatment Mia's pain was given, both by calling it depression when it wasn't and by writing it away when it wouldn't have been so soon gone, felt like disrespect to the pain I felt and still feel. Add to this already bad mix the histrionics and fits of drama Mia is prone to and the book was near unreadable, even to me as a Princess Diaries and Meg Cabot fan. Not recommended.
-One Trick Pony by Daniella Brodsky. Four teenage friends who hang out at a coffeeshop, the One Trick Pony, and get to know its new operator. I kept waiting for the resolution. It never came. While the characters were engaging and interesting and the writing was decent, there was literally no resolution at all. Sure, the destined and obvious romantic connection happened, but nothing came of the more nebulous romantic connection, neither firm affirmation nor convincing denial. And, not only was the mystery of the special coffee, and the shop's unusual new owner never solved, it wasn't even mentioned in the resolution. Way to ignore what you spent the whole book setting up. Not recommended.
Other books I liked more:
-Beastly, by Alex Finn. A retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Not exceptional but a good and fun read, well written and quickly read. Recommended if you have the spare time, but not a must read.
-Ship of Magic, Mad Ship, and Ship of Destiny, by Robin Hobb. (this was actually what I wanted to make the post about but it is now almost 3 and I'm going to bed. See, this is what happens when I find a keyboard after midnight. I will finish tomorrow)
It is now tomorrow. I continue.
I've been diving into Robin Hobb's books, her Liveship Trilogy to be precise. Now Robin Hobb herself has some crazy ideas about the real world; however, her ideas about the world as she creates it are fantastic, quite literally. Pirates and sentient ships and corrupt kings and dragons and intrigue and deception up the wazoo. The books are so incredibly complex, it's difficult to do them justice. If any other book had her plot with different characters, I'd praise the intricacies, the seamless way she pulls together different story threads from all over the world she creates, and the beauty in her revelations, and the way the reader is simultaneous shocked and taken completely aback, and certain that it could not have happened any other way. I'd say the plot was clearly the strongest point.
If any other book had her characters with a different plot, however, I'd say the characters were clearly the strongest point. So many, and all so incredibly three dimensional! The hardest and best thing about the characters is that there is no Bad Guy. There is no evil villain who needs to be killed and all will be well. No, there are only people, all trying to do what is right. (ETA: I say people, but I don't limit that to humans. Ships, serpents, dragons, all sorts of surprises comprise the characters in the books) The conflict comes because of course they don't all agree on what right is. It leaves you incredibly torn at times, because you don't even know which character to root for. The characters are so realistic that even as you want to beat them over the head for making a stupid decision you know there is no other decision that character could possibly have made. The characters make the plot, and the plot makes the characters. Different characters wouldn't have led to this plot. At the same time, the characters would be different if the events that happened had not. Neither can be separated from the other. Every decision every character makes not only changes the plot irrevocably, but changes the other characters. Everything affects everything else. I can't even explain the way that a tangled and twisted pile of disparate plot threads and characters comes together into an outstanding and incredibly complete tapestry of a tale. Highly, highly recommended.
Also there are lots and lots of sailors and ships and open seas adventures and I don't think I've ever wanted a fictional character more than Robin Hobb's Brashen Trell.
When I was young, I read all the time. Constantly, voraciously, almost obsessively. We didn't have a TV--still don't, for that matter--and I didn't get along well with my brother at the time. I spent a lot of my time alone. So, I read. I read everything I could get my hands on, and if anyone thought I stopped to consider what was age appropriate, in either content or difficulty, they were dead wrong. I read things that were both far too easy for me, and far too complex. My mom is the director of our public library, so my supply of books was near limitless. I would sit there for hours and read and read and read and then bring home bagfuls of books with me or write my mom lists of things I wanted. In middle school, I made it my goal to read four books off every shelf in our school library. Fantasy, mystery, romance, action, sports books, non fiction, fairy tales, science fiction, books for kids, books for adults, everything. I read it all. And I was smart. Oh, I was smart. Not only could I quickly grasp people's meanings, but I could phrase my own. All of the things I'd read about, all the different people and scenarios and possibilities whirled in my head and helped me decipher the world around me, and all the writing, the sheer number of words I saw, made me able to describe it. I could practically feel my brain crackling with energy, making connections, understanding.
I started reading fanfiction around the time the Lord of the Rings movies came out. I was in 8th or 9th grade, I think. I loved the world Tolkein had created, and I was desperate for more of it. I can't remember how I first found fanfiction, but found it I did, and I dove into it. And it was thrilling, all of these people writing so many stories about the characters and situations I loved so deeply. I began to get in the habit of turning on my computer when I was bored, instead of reaching for a book. Eventually, I discovered Harry Potter fanfiction as well, and that became my new passion. And I was still reading, probably just as much and just as voraciously. However, wonderful and well written as much fanfiction is (or at least the fanfiction that I read these days--certainly many of my early forays to FF.N did not yield such wonders), I've beginning to feel of late that reading continuously of the same characters, the same settings, the same premises that most fics start from has begun to wear at my mind. I haven't been forced to work for my entertainment. I already have my ideas of who Harry and Voldemort and Luna and Pansy and Snape are. I know what I think the Gryffindor common room looks like, and 12 Grimmuld Place. At the beginning, fanfiction taught me so much about what makes a good story, what does not, what is good writing, how to write something others will read, how good writing and high readership don't necessarily overlap, and how to take something you loved and make it your own. In the middle, fanfiction taught me about people--the people who wrote the stories, all the different interpretations of first the characters we all loved, but slowly moving into different interpretations of the world. I'm beginning to feel, though, that fanfiction has taught me all it has to teach me. I'm feeling the call of more distant and less familiar lands.
The point of this ramble is not to disparage fanfiction in any way, nor the people that I've met in fandom. Actually all of this replaced seven simple words I had before: I feel I should read more books. It seemed too simple at the time, but it's still the final point. To that end, my early new year's resolution is simple as well--to read more books, and to keep track of them. Not necessarily to read only Quality Works of Literature--reading should be fun and enjoyable. I would like to read more things of substance however, although I won't hold the substance-free things against myself. My tally so far.
(note: I rarely don't finish books I start, not out of any feeling of duty or something of that sort. It's simply that I read fast enough that it's not a big deal to finish or not, especially shortish books like these. I don't hold with books that you choose for your enjoyment not entertaining you and would never keep reading such a thing if it were a huge sacrifice of my time to do so.)
-Snowed In, by Rachel Hawthorne. Very very standard rom com. Nothing exceptional at all. I've read a few of her other books and enjoyed them more than I do typical rom com, but this one was subpar for her, although at par for the genre. Not particularly recommended.
-Princess Mia, by Meg Cabot. Another book I was disappointed by. There are some spoilers in this write up, but honestly nothing you wouldn't guess, so read or don't as you will. This is in Meg Cabot's Princess Diaries series, which should have ended a good three or four books ago. I really enjoy most of Meg Cabot's writing--she has a great sense of voice (If you're a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, give her Mediator series a try. A very engaging, entertaining and intriguing series with a fun premise and a great cast). However, not only did I dislike this book but it actually pissed me off. The plotline is Mia's longterm boyfriend breaks up with her. It features fantastic things like, after less than a week of laying in her room and not wanting to talk to people, her parents drag her to therapy and have her diagnosed as depressed. This is one of my pet peeves. People with a tidy room will proclaim they're OCD. People whose thoughts wander a bit declare they must be ADD. A mood swing leads to mutterings of bipolar. That irritates the shit out of me. This trivializes serious problems that cause great distress and disability. Grief and depression are not the same thing. Mia had more than enough reason to not to want to leave her room for awhile. She lost someone she loved. You don't recover from that immediately.
To make matters worse, she finds herself "cured" three or four weeks later and moving on to someone new. Jesus Christ, way to trivialize the entire premise of the whole book. If you are going to do the depression storyline, please don't use it as a plot device. If she truly were depressed and devastated at the loss of her boyfriend, as I'm sure the character would have been, she wouldn't get over it that quickly. Three weeks is not enough healing time for someone you've loved for two years. I've walked this path and in some ways seeing the disrespectful treatment Mia's pain was given, both by calling it depression when it wasn't and by writing it away when it wouldn't have been so soon gone, felt like disrespect to the pain I felt and still feel. Add to this already bad mix the histrionics and fits of drama Mia is prone to and the book was near unreadable, even to me as a Princess Diaries and Meg Cabot fan. Not recommended.
-One Trick Pony by Daniella Brodsky. Four teenage friends who hang out at a coffeeshop, the One Trick Pony, and get to know its new operator. I kept waiting for the resolution. It never came. While the characters were engaging and interesting and the writing was decent, there was literally no resolution at all. Sure, the destined and obvious romantic connection happened, but nothing came of the more nebulous romantic connection, neither firm affirmation nor convincing denial. And, not only was the mystery of the special coffee, and the shop's unusual new owner never solved, it wasn't even mentioned in the resolution. Way to ignore what you spent the whole book setting up. Not recommended.
Other books I liked more:
-Beastly, by Alex Finn. A retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Not exceptional but a good and fun read, well written and quickly read. Recommended if you have the spare time, but not a must read.
-Ship of Magic, Mad Ship, and Ship of Destiny, by Robin Hobb. (this was actually what I wanted to make the post about but it is now almost 3 and I'm going to bed. See, this is what happens when I find a keyboard after midnight. I will finish tomorrow)
It is now tomorrow. I continue.
I've been diving into Robin Hobb's books, her Liveship Trilogy to be precise. Now Robin Hobb herself has some crazy ideas about the real world; however, her ideas about the world as she creates it are fantastic, quite literally. Pirates and sentient ships and corrupt kings and dragons and intrigue and deception up the wazoo. The books are so incredibly complex, it's difficult to do them justice. If any other book had her plot with different characters, I'd praise the intricacies, the seamless way she pulls together different story threads from all over the world she creates, and the beauty in her revelations, and the way the reader is simultaneous shocked and taken completely aback, and certain that it could not have happened any other way. I'd say the plot was clearly the strongest point.
If any other book had her characters with a different plot, however, I'd say the characters were clearly the strongest point. So many, and all so incredibly three dimensional! The hardest and best thing about the characters is that there is no Bad Guy. There is no evil villain who needs to be killed and all will be well. No, there are only people, all trying to do what is right. (ETA: I say people, but I don't limit that to humans. Ships, serpents, dragons, all sorts of surprises comprise the characters in the books) The conflict comes because of course they don't all agree on what right is. It leaves you incredibly torn at times, because you don't even know which character to root for. The characters are so realistic that even as you want to beat them over the head for making a stupid decision you know there is no other decision that character could possibly have made. The characters make the plot, and the plot makes the characters. Different characters wouldn't have led to this plot. At the same time, the characters would be different if the events that happened had not. Neither can be separated from the other. Every decision every character makes not only changes the plot irrevocably, but changes the other characters. Everything affects everything else. I can't even explain the way that a tangled and twisted pile of disparate plot threads and characters comes together into an outstanding and incredibly complete tapestry of a tale. Highly, highly recommended.
Also there are lots and lots of sailors and ships and open seas adventures and I don't think I've ever wanted a fictional character more than Robin Hobb's Brashen Trell.
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no subject
Date: 2007-12-28 04:56 am (UTC)I remember reading the Princess Diaries books! I really liked the first one, but didn't really get into the rest of the series. I agree with you though - should have ended awhile back. I hate it when a series drags on unnecessarily. :/
I think I would like to do a books rec post at some point, maybe. Although am not sure if anyone really shares my taste in books. D: That could prove to be a problem...
PS, I saw you left me a comment on the post about you-know-what. Am actually heading to bed (could not resist the draw of book talk :">), but will definitely reply to that tomorrow sometime. ♥ Ilusm, Penni.
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Date: 2007-12-28 08:51 pm (UTC)You should make a books you're reading post! I always find it so interesting even if my tastes don't coincide with the other persons.
good luck ily!
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Date: 2007-12-28 05:37 am (UTC)I'm currently reading the third book in the series that starts with "Kirith Kirin" by Jim Grimsley and I highly recommend them. I absolutely loved the first book, the second a little less so, and we'll see how the third goes. ;-)
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Date: 2007-12-28 08:53 pm (UTC)You should really give her a try. If you like epic fantasy, you can't go wrong with her.
Oh, what is that series about?
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Date: 2007-12-29 06:33 am (UTC)Oh, what is that series about?
Oh, sorry - you were talking about epic fantasy so I had that in my mind and didn't realize I'd totally left you with no clue about what kind of books these were - yep - epic fantasy too. And the first one, Kirith Kirin, in particular, has one of the most intriguing explanations of magic I've ever read, plus it has lovely canon slash. :)
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Date: 2007-12-28 09:05 am (UTC)OOOOH. :D :D Have you read her FarSeer Trilogy and the Tawny Man Series? :D :D
EEEE ROBIN HOBB. :D :D :D
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Date: 2007-12-28 08:54 pm (UTC)I am starting the Assassin books next! Have the first one right here.
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Date: 2008-01-05 11:40 am (UTC)OH FITZ. He's so. One moment I wanted to punch him in the face and the other I wanted to HUG HIM! :D
*kind of spoilery*
Date: 2007-12-28 12:04 pm (UTC)I like the Princess Diary books that I've read, but I don't like Mia. I'm not sure is Meg Cabot being purposely ironic with the whole Greenpeace V designer gown thing, but Mia comes across as pretty dense.
Re: *kind of spoilery*
Date: 2007-12-28 08:57 pm (UTC)That's one of the things that I really like in her books, the way the characters change. Malta stands out especially for me--the way she changes from a self centered bitchy manipulative little girl into the first of the Elderlings and negotiating for the Satrap is just fascinating. And oh Althea and Brashen. *draws hearts around* :DDDDD
I agree. I think Meg Cabot has much better heroines in some of her other books. I just can't buy the things Mia worries about and the decisions she makes.
no subject
Date: 2007-12-28 07:27 pm (UTC)Anyway, I totally understand your impulse to read more books as opposed to fanfiction. I've been kind of thinking along the same lines this past year. I think the thing that's kept me in fandom is that I have so many different fandoms that when I get tired of the characters and settings of one fandom, I just move on to the next. I have been increasing my reading of actual books though. I actually took a shot at the
Speaking of which, are you a member of any of the social networking sites that are related to books like Goodreads or LibraryThing? If not, maybe you should try joining one. I like Goodreads a lot, but plenty of people swear by LibraryThing, and there are some other ones out there that I don't really know a lot about.
I like Robin Hobb a lot, although I liked the Assassin books more than the Liveship Traders for some reason. I've been meaning to read her latest trilogy for a while now, but I just haven't gotten around to it. Your enthusiasm about the Liveship Traders books makes me want to go back and read them again, just to see what I missed.
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Date: 2007-12-28 07:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-12-28 09:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-12-28 09:03 pm (UTC)I was wondering the same thing for awhile, if it was just boredom of my chosen fandom and if I should branch out, but I've been staggering through various other fandoms and just not feeling the pull. I'm sure I'm never going to stop entirely, but the days when I would just sit for hours and read fic are done I think.
Oh, thanks for the links! My parents both use Library Thing, but I hadn't heard of the others. I will check them out--I always like knowing what people are reading!
I'm looking forward to the Assassin trilogy; it's next on my list. This was my second time through the Liveship trilogy and I think it improved with the rereading. Because I already knew who the characters were and the basic premises of the situations, I could concentrate more on appreciating how she develops the characters and draws everything together. If you get the chance, I'd really recommend a reread!
no subject
Date: 2007-12-30 04:00 am (UTC)I love your Meg Cabot review, especially the Mediator rec because I once read one of her (albeit later) books in the PD series and found it rather, uh, not to my liking. It's good to know that she is a good writer with a series that BtVS fans will like. :B
I really agree with you about the depression thing, too! I have never heard of a misdiagnosis in a book, much less used as a plot device (without actually being a misdiagnosis in the story), and that is just more than so annoying, since misdiagnoses are such a pet peeve for me in RL, too! It's bad enough she used it as a plot device when Mia is "cured" in a matter of weeks. Ugh. Ugh.
I will definitely read Robin Hobb, now. One of my friends is writing a series that sounds like your description of her style, hehehe.
no subject
Date: 2008-01-08 09:35 pm (UTC)You should try Mediator. I really like it. :)
god it pissed me off so bad. I don't know if I'm over reacting because I was in such a similar place but it just. JESUS. I didn't leave my room for a week after eric broke up with me either. I don't think that is abnormal behavior! and yeah my parents dragged me to therapy but they didn't slap a depressed label on me and wash their hands of the thing, and I. JESUS CHRIST. sure as hell wasn't """"cured""""" (imagine that with as much sarcasm as you can muster) in a few weeks after that. GODDAMN sometimes just the thought that i have to spend the rest of my life without him drives me to my knees even now because i can't stand with the weight of it. And the very thought that after this guy she's been in love with for FOUR YEARS tells her he doesn't love her anymore and is moving on, the very IDEA that a FEW WEEKS AFTER THAT she is moving on to someone else COMPLETELY TRIVIALIZED THE ENTIRE CHARACTER, BOOK, AND SERIES.
um. </ rant>?
no subject
Date: 2008-01-09 01:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-01 02:00 am (UTC)I like the reviews, although I havn't read any of the books you've reviewed (maybe that's a good thing - make reviews serve their purpose!)
am so late :((((
Date: 2008-01-08 09:28 pm (UTC)and thanks! :)
Re: am so late :((((
Date: 2008-01-09 03:11 am (UTC)Adams - Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Asimov - I, Robot ; Foundation
Becket - Waiting for Godot - I think one of our lit books said something about this in its postmodern section.
Cisneros - The House on Mango Street
Delany - Dhalgren ; Stars in My Pocket like Grains of Sand ; Nova - I would avoid Dhalgren or Stars in My Pocket like Grains of Sand if you plan on reading it in public / are a bit queesy about copious amounts of sex of all forms. Nova mostly avoids this. Also note that Delany is my favorite sci-fi author in terms of ideas presented and actual technique, but not my favorite in terms of prose.
Dick - Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Eggers - A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius - This is genius, particularly if you now go into it thinking about his fourth-wall breaking and self-parody.
Gibson - Neuromancer
Hemingway - A Farewell to Arms ; For Whom the Bell Tolls
Herbert - Dune
Kerouac - On the Road
Levithan - The Realm of Possibility
Marquez - One Hundred Years of Solitude
McHugh - China Mountain Zhang
Means - Assorted Fire Events Stories
Murakami - Kafka on the Shore - This is also genius.
Obrien - The Things They Carried
Plath - The Bell Jar
Stevens - Harmonium
Vonnegut - Cat's Cradle; Breakfast of Champions
Whitman - Leaves of Grass - Either get the first edition which has something like 9 long-form ones or get the last one which has basically everything he ever wrote.
That's obviously a lot of favorites. So. If you want just a few books I think are absolutely really good (your mileage may vary):
Delany - Dhalgren or Nova
Eggers - A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
Murakami - Kafka on the Shore
Stevens - Harmonium
Whitman - Leaves of Grass