One of the things I enjoy most in life is reading a good book. There are few things that bring me the same indescribable pleasure. Most of my reading habits started very early in my life. At the age of eight or nine I developed what was perhaps an unusual interest in all things macabre, and I started to read the novels of Stephen King. I think the first I read was 'The Eyes of the Dragon', a tamer, fantasy-themed book that my parents thought was a more acceptable pick than my original choice, 'Pet Sematary'. At that time (being eight or nine years old) my mother and father were helping me choose my reading materials and guiding my development like any good parents would. It was my father who made sure I could read at an advanced level by the time I entered Kindergarden, but both my parents read to me on a regular basis from the time I left the womb. How much this benefitted my intellectual development I will never fully know, but I can guess it was a big plus and probably the reason I was able to excel in academics from the time I entered secondary school.



My reading habits continued to grow and for the time being and through my teenage years I stuck with material that is considered to be related to the horror genre. After graduating from Stephen King (I soon found his stories to be not very shocking at all, and I wanted something a bit more intense) I moved on to Clive Barker, whose 'The Great and Secret Show' is still one of my favorite novels today. I had been introduced to him after reading a review of the book in the New York Times, which my family subscribed to (and still does). Mr. Barker blends horror and fantasy (and later, in some cases, even romance) to fantastically sublime results. I was so endeared towards him that, at the age of ten, I wrote him a letter in my schoolboy hand telling him how much I admired his novel The Great and Secret Show. I had written Stephen King two years earlier and was slightly miffed to receive a form reply from his secretary. The letter I wrote to Clive Barker was apparently received and actually read by Mr. Barker, because about six months after I sent the scribbled note to his publisher I received a handwritten note enclosed in a hand-addressed envelope from Clive himself. At ten this was simply thrilling and sent me a mental message that I could actually reach out to anyone and perhaps they would listen and even reach back. Perhaps that was the gestation of my interest in technologies that enable communication.. I don't know for sure.



Later I did 'graduate' from the shocker genre, but not until after sixth grade, when I was publicly chastised for bringing the book I was reading at the time, 'American Psycho' by Bret Easton Ellis, to my grade school. I was actually warned by the bookseller at the small bookshop I purchased the book (there were few book & media mega-chain stores in those days) that if I read the book I would perhaps be expelled from school or simply become a complete delinquent (and then go nowhere in my life) because, as he said, 'this book is not for children or young adults'.

'Wait!' I said... 'I read Stephen King and Clive Barker all the time!!'
'I can handle this!.... I am practically thirteen years old!'

Well, I bought the book despite the bookseller's best intentions to save my mortal soul. It did get me in trouble at school though, perhaps not so much because of the subject matter and more because I would read it in the locker rooms while I was supposed to be running track during Physical Education period. 'American Psycho' is a book I have read several times since that first encounter with it in the sixth grade, and as I matured I was able to see it as a satire and not really a 'shocker' novel at all.



There are about five novels that I have read in the past 10 years that really stuck out for me as being simply excellent.. the kind of books you wish would never end and who have characters that you think about long after the book has been read (twice, perhaps). The first that comes to mind as a life-changing novel was the most difficult one for me to read and finish.
'Infinite Jest', by David Foster Wallace, is an extraordinary opus. The subjects addressed by this book and the plot are both too intricate and involved to be included in a short weblog posting, but I can say that it touches on what it means to be human and have habits and compulsions that one is driven (and perhaps destined) to repeat.
'London Fields' by Martin Amis is a hysterical romp about murder, sex, loathing, and darts (yes, darts... ya know, the sport?). This book I could read over and over (and have), and Martin Amis has a catalog full of great writing available for digestion by the avid reader. Get it and read it when you have the time to really laugh and be intrigued, for it is a mystery of sorts.
The next novel I am listing is from perhaps my favorite writer ever, Mr. Salman Rushdie, who I had the great fortune to hear speak in San Francisco after the Ayatollah's death made it easier for him to speak and appear in public places.
'The Satanic Verses' is a masterwork unrivaled by any other piece of fiction I have ever read. Mr. Rushdie's prose is so elegant that simply reading his work makes one feel as if they are floating on a cloud, and the number of intellectual, sometimes 'inside' references in his sentences makes his work one that can be studied in an academic fashion. But I prefer to read it because it is just so enjoyable and beautiful.


I can't end the post without mentioning two works of fiction that I would categorize as 'heartwarming'. The three previous books I mentioned are seriously funny, but not what I would call 'endearing' in a 'curl-up-with-a-book-beside-the-fireplace' sort of way.
'The Corrections' by Jonathan Franzen is a beautiful story of a family. Similar to what might be an excellent memoir, but fiction, Mr. Franzen's first novel that was not about technology is simply wonderful.

'Wonder Boys' by Michael Chabon is another novel that I hold dear. It tells the story of an aging literature professor who develops an unlikely alliance with one of his students while trying to complete his magnum opus. Hilarious dialogue and a fast-paced read makes this book perfect for even the reader with a short attention span. Mr. Chabon has been almost universally critically praised for the beauty of his prose and elegance with which he writes, and I couldn't agree more. Reading a Chabon novel is a true delight.



So, to conclude, when I want to read a good book, I usually reach for the fiction. Fiction, and especially contemporary fiction, has held the most slots in my physical library for a long time, and correspondingly that is also so in my personal copy of Delicious Library. Good books never leave you. They visit you from time to time to remind you how beautiful, and perhaps ephemeral, life can be.