Books Continued

1. Night- Night is the best book that I have read all year round in school. I'd read it before, but reading it a second time I saw it in a new light.

2. If Not Now, When?- I read this after Night, and liked it a lot. I reccomend it to everybody for a fast read.

3. Slouching Toward Nirvana- I was attracted to this book because of its super cool title and it's very pretty cover. For some reason, Bukowski's poems read like stories- you feel like you know him, you feel like you're there with him as he yells at the black guys stealing his tv, and as he works in various factories, small jobs, etc. Some people think Bukowski is a load of crap, and that he's pretentious. Whatever. All I know is I remember literally all of his poems in Slouching Toward Nirvana, and I loved each one.

4. Hip: A History- I CAN'T RECCOMEND THIS ENOUGH. Buy it. Borrow it. Just read it. Yes, sometimes while you're reading you stop and think, "What the heck is he talking about"? But I love reading about the precursors of hip, and Walt Whitman and the orginal beats and American bohemians.

5. Leaves of Grass- Speaking of Walt Whitman, this is the most perfect anthology of published poems. Walt Whitman just tears and rips at your consciousness and you feel his words seeping into your veins. They aren't poems for recluses, or poems for the introverted sulker. Leaves of Grass is tuned to the poetry of life and all its rhythyms (sp? I know, I know) and passion. Walt Whitman is by far the best American poet.

6. Walden- Not just something Eric Cartman plagiarized. Walden chronicles Thoreau's life in the woods, and all his ideas on government, taxes, and life in general. The last twenty pages are amazing. I read just those pages from time to time, and hanged some quotes up on my wall. Thoreau is the man.

7. Chronicles V. One- BOB DYLAN! I read this in a day. I really liked reading about what Bob read, and what poets and authors he liked. I can't tell you how much I love Bob. It borders on obsession. My mom makes fun of me and Chrissy for being so crazy. For watching No Direction Home three times in one day. But you shouldn't criticize what you can't understand.

8. The Picture of Dorian Gray- Oscar Wilde managed to write the coolest plot line ever. I read the first few pages about a billion times over.