FAVORITE BOOKS

1. ON THE ROAD- JACK KEROUC / In 1975 I was a sophomore in High School and working part-time in a bowling alley in Falls Church, Virginia. The janitor at the bowling alley was a Vietnam Vet who was well-read, intelligent and prone to philosophizing. He was also mentally and emotionally scarred from his experiences in the war. He knew of my interest in art and poetry and as encouragement presented to me the gift of his own worn and battered paperback copy of 'On The Road'. As I'm sure was his intent, this book opened my mind to a whole new way of looking at literature and the world. I'd never read anything like it. Kerouac didn't live or write the same as anyone else. 'On The Road' helped me to realize that there were options in life other than the simple pursuit of a nine-to-five, suit and tie job; it was possible for a person to break out of the box and take a different path. Upon finishing the book I was crazy with desire to escape from the constraints of my middle-class, suburban existence and explore the world but I managed to stick around till my High School graduation. It wasn't long after, though, before I was on my own road seeking adventure and life experiences. For better or worse, no other book has had more of a profound impact on my life.

2. THE GRAPES OF WRATH- JOHN STEINBECK / For my college English Lit term paper I chose the 'inner-chapters' of this great book, which are intricate studies of the many small details that made up the American landscape during the depression years and are separate from but enhance the main story. This is probably the best American novel ever written and is so grounded in truth and feeling that it has the gravitas of an actual historical document. No other book has ever felt so 'real' or seemed so impassioned to me.

3. TROPIC OF CANCER - HENRY MILLER / This book made me want to pick up everything and move to Paris. Miller is so adept at capturing the feel and look and smell of a place with his taught but expressive writing, he puts the reader right into the story. This is the most romantic book I've ever read but even though there is plenty of sex and emotion between the characters, the real romance is between the author and the time and place he is writing about.

4. THE COLOSSUS- SYLVIA PLATH / Sylvia's first collection of poetry is as raw and heartbreakingly beautiful as poetry gets. Her writing is a fluid, complicated, lyrical language unto itself and her personal despair so real and vivid it almost bleeds through the pages.

5. RUN WITH THE HUNTED (COMPILATION) - CHARLES BUKOWSKI / Bukowski's writing is definitely not for everyone, but I put him in the same class as Kerouac and William Burroughs. Like the great Beat writers, Buckowski's language is uncompromised and honest but rooted in the romance of the gutter; the love for lives lived outside of the box and on the furthest fringes of societies' norm. Bukowski wrote in a minimalist style that no doubt mirrored how he really spoke and thought, yet still conveyed enough emotion and clarity to bring his jagged, unkempt world to life. I believe his stature and reputation as a writer will grown larger over time. I also believe he is one of the most unappreciated poets of the twentieth century. This compilation was my introduction to Bukowski's world of drunks, losers and low-lifes and is a great starting point for anyone interested in discovering a great American author and poet.

6. WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE - MAURICE SENDAK / This was my favorite childhood book and the first book I bought for my daughter, way before she was even old enough to know what a book is. I wanted it to be there for her when she was ready to experience the deceptively simple magic of Maurice Sendak's illustrations and sparse but imaginative prose. I now read it to her regularly and, like me, she never gets tired of hearing about little Max and his adventures with the Wild Things.

7. JACKSON POLLACK: AN AMERICAN SAGA - STEVEN NAIFEH and GREGORY WHITE SMITH / One of the most detailed and comprehensive biographies that I've ever read and the absolute best about a famous artist. Compelling, enlightening and somewhat disturbing, the book chronicles the life of Jackson Pollack, (in my opinion the greatest abstract expressionist), from a childhood growing up in an american west that still belonged to the cowboy and influenced so much of his art to his death by car crash in Long Island, New York. In between is the always fascinating account of an insecure man-child, uncontrollable alcoholic and passionate but tormented artist. A must-read for anyone interested in Pollack and his work and / or the abstract expressionist movement of the 1950's that changed forever the artistic landscape.

8. TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD - HARPER LEE / The language is so true and the story so 'real' that this book felt familiar, like an old friend, from the very first page. It is a renowned masterpiece that perfectly captures what its like to live and die in a small town in the deep, deep South. More important, it makes the reader understand what its like to be a Motherless little girl with a Father who's bigger than life and an intelligence and imagination far greater than most of the adults around her.

9. THE ROAD - CORMAC McCARTHY / The most relative, terrifyingly realistic novel about the future ever written. Cormac's prose weaves poetry through a landscape of such horrific violence and frightening imagery that it will leave readers haunted long after they've finished this modern masterpiece.

10. THE STAND - STEPHEN KING / Stephen King is capable of such great writing, as evidenced by this sprawling, haunting epic of Earth's last days, but his own prolific nature has forced him to churn out much crap and in so doing being forever regarded as nothing more than a wildly successful writer of 'popular' fiction. This book exposes all of King's best traits as a writer; his love for nostalgia and pop culture, his clear understanding of what it means be young and restless, and his ability to be downright scary. 'The Stand' is the rare exception in King's oeuvre of a book that actually warrants the hundreds of pages needed to tell the tale. The story is vast with a multitude of characters and plotlines, but King manages to keep everything in check and leads the reader down a chilling path of retribution and redemption that ends with a big and satisfying payoff.

+11. THE WATCHMEN (GRAPHIC NOVEL) - ALAN MOORE (Art by Dave Gibbons) Far more than a simple comic book, 'The Watchmen' is one of the best 'book's ever written, in any form. It is chilling, exciting, and darkly funny, often all at the same time. Alan Moore is a brilliant writer who's graphic novels are the best the medium has to offer. Here he uses his art form to deconstruct the very idea of what a 'super-hero' is and in so doing creates a futuristic world that is disturbing, cynical and perverse yet somehow believable.

+12. THE EARLY BOOKS OF RAY BRADBURY / Ray Bradbury's books hold a special place in my heart. He was the first writer to really capture my young imagination and the only 'science-fiction' author to hold my interest. In truth, I believe his fantastical stories are both more and less than what traditional 'sci-fi' is defined as and really defy categorization. Ray's writing style is so rich and detailed that it often reads more like poetry. My favorites include 'The Martian Chronicles', 'The Illustrated Man' and 'Something Wicked This Way Comes'.

MORE (In no particular order)...

PICASSO- A LIFE, VOL. I - JOHN RICHARDSON

JUNKY - WILLIAM BURROUGHS

THE YEARLING- MARJORIE KINNAN RAWLINGS

I AM LEGEND - RICHARD MATHESON

FEAR & LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS - HUNTER S. THOMPSON

SAN FRANCISO BLUES - JACK KEROUAC

STILL LIFE WITH WOODPECKER - TOM ROBBINS

THE ILLUSTRATED MAN - RAY BRADBURY

V FOR VENDETTA (GRAPHIC NOVEL) - ALAN MOORE

SHORT STORIES - ERNEST HEMINGWAY

TENDER IS THE NIGHT - F. SCOTT FITZGERALD

CANNERY ROW- JOHN STEINBECK

SILENCE OF THE LAMBS - THOMAS HARRIS

HAM ON RYE - CHARLES BUKOWSKI

COLD MOUNTAIN - CHARLES FRAZIER

BASQUIAT - PHOEBE HOBAN

RABBIT RUN - JOHN UPDIKE

LUST FOR LIFE - IRVING STONE

POST OFFICE- CHARLES BUKOWSKI

ZEN & THE ART OF MOTORCYCLE MAINTENANCE - ROBERT M. PIRSIG

THE BASKETBALL DIARIES - JIM CARROLL

LIFE OF PI - YANN MARTEL

de KOONING: AN AMERICAN MASTER / MARK STEVENS AND ANNALYN SWAN

BLOOD MERIDIAN / CORMAC MCCARTHY

THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF KAVALIER AND CLAY / MICHEAL CHABON

THE TIME MACHINE / H.G. WELLS

 

 

KIRK'S BLOG:

'SANCTUARY ART' - previewing and commenting on KIrk Art 'fresh off the easel'