The Best Books

Generally while writing a positive review, I consider whether it falls into the category of one of the Best Books I have read, which effectively have been memorialized since 2008. Best Books read prior to 2008 are not included. Certainly there were many excellent books over the first 25 years of life, but they may only show up on this list on a re-read (these are generally disclosed). It is certainly not a comprehensive list of "essential" literature, or "great books." They are necessarily idiosyncratic (mixed in with a few obvious inclusions); Ulysses, for example, is hardly a favorite of mine, and yet is included for its mythological status. Regardless, I highly recommend each of them, and invite you to peruse each review and comment. I'm doing this because I recently started updating my Goodreads and I wanted to put this list in a more prominent place than my Blogger Profile. This post will be updated as the list grows, and it is organized chronologically; therefore, please do not judge me for the early ones... - JK

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Doctor Faustus - Thomas Mann - Flying Houses: Doctor Faustus - Thomas Mann

Pale Fire - Vladimir Nabokov - Flying Houses: Pale Fire - Vladimir Nabokov

This Side of Paradise - F. Scott Fitzgerald - Flying Houses: This Side of Paradise - F. Scott Fitzgerald

Try - Dennis Cooper - Flying Houses: Try - Dennis Cooper

Desolation Angels - Jack Kerouac - Flying Houses: Desolation Angels - Jack Kerouac

Buddenbrooks  - Thomas Mann - Flying Houses: Buddenbrooks - Thomas Mann
                                                      Flying Houses: Buddenbrooks - Thomas Mann (original review)

Dead Boys - Richard Lange - Flying Houses: Dead Boys - Richard Lange

Lexicon Devil - Brendan Mullen - Flying Houses: Lexicon Devil: The Fast Times and Short Life of Darby Crash and the Germs - Brendan Mullen with Don Bolles and Adam Parfrey

The Magic Mountain - Thomas Mann - Flying Houses: The Magic Mountain - Thomas Mann

Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov - Flying Houses: The Annotated Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov (Ed. Alfred Appel, Jr.)

Underworld - Don DeLillo - Flying Houses: Underworld - Don DeLillo

The Beautiful and Damned - F. Scott Fitzgerald - Flying Houses: The Beautiful and Damned - F. Scott Fitzgerald

Death in Venice - Thomas Mann - Flying Houses: Death in Venice and Other Stories - Thomas Mann (Transl. David Luke)

Franny and Zooey - J.D. Salinger - Flying Houses: Franny and Zooey - J.D. Salinger

Ulysses - James Joyce - Flying Houses: Ulysses - James Joyce

American Pastoral - Philip Roth - Flying Houses: American Pastoral - Philip Roth

Ada, or Ardor - Vladimir Nabokov - Flying Houses: Ada, or Ardor: A Family Chronicle - Vladimir Nabokov

The Nine - Jeffrey Toobin - Flying Houses: The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court - Jeffrey Toobin

The Dark Knight Returns - Frank Miller - Flying Houses: The Dark Knight Returns - Frank Miller with Klaus Janson and Lynn Varley

The Brethren - Bob Woodward - Flying Houses: The Brethren - Bob Woodward & Scott Armstrong

Watchmen - Alan Moore - Flying Houses: Watchmen - Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons

The Oath - Jeffrey Toobin - Flying Houses: The Oath - Jeffrey Toobin

Wild Bill - Bruce Allen Murphy - Flying Houses: Wild Bill: The Legend and Life of William O. Douglas - Bruce Allen Murphy

The Corrections - Jonathan Franzen - Flying Houses: The Corrections - Jonathan Franzen (2001)

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running - Haruki Murakami - Flying Houses: What I Talk About When I Talk About Running - Haruki Murakami (2008)

Please Kill Me - Legs McNeil - Flying Houses: Please Kill Me: the Uncensored Oral History of Punk - Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain (1997)

Raymond Carver: A Writer's Life - Carol Sklenicka - Flying Houses: Raymond Carver: A Writer's Life - Carol Sklenicka

Just Kids - Patti Smith - Flying Houses: Just Kids - Patti Smith (2010)

The Goldfinch - Donna Tartt - Flying Houses: The Goldfinch - Donna Tartt (2013)

Then We Came to the End - Joshua Ferris - Flying Houses: Then We Came to the End - Joshua Ferris (2007)

Slaughterhouse-Five - Kurt Vonnegut - Flying Houses: Slaughterhouse-Five - Kurt Vonnegut (1968)

Grass Roots - Emily Dufton - Flying Houses: Grass Roots: the Rise and Fall and Rise of Marijuana in America - Emily Dufton (2017)

Cat's Cradle - Kurt Vonnegut - Flying Houses: Cat's Cradle - Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (1963)

Our Band Could Be Your Life - Michael Azzerad - Flying Houses: Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground - Michael Azerrad (2001)

Trouble Boys - Bob Mehr - Flying Houses: Trouble Boys: The True Story of the Replacements - Bob Mehr (2016)

The Sun Also Rises - Ernest Hemingway - Flying Houses: The Sun Also Rises - Ernest Hemingway (1926)

Kitchen Confidential - Anthony Bourdain - Flying Houses: Kitchen Confidential - Anthony Bourdain (2000)

Sabrina - Nick Drnaso - Flying Houses: Short Form: The Four Agreements, The Impossible Fortress, Sabrina, Garden State (redux), Beastie Boys Book, Rock Steady, Let's Go (So We Can Get Back), Asymmetry, Go Tell It on the Mountain

The Night of the Gun - David Carr - Flying Houses: The Night of the Gun - David Carr (2008)

Let's Play Two - Ron Rapoport - Flying Houses: Let's Play Two: The Legend of Mr. Cub, The Life of Ernie Banks - Ron Rapoport (2019)

Dept. of Speculation - Jenny Offill - Flying Houses: Dept. of Speculation - Jenny Offill (2014)

Sontag - Benjamin Moser - Flying Houses: Sontag - Benjamin Moser (2019)