hipster time; episode two

that's right, i'm back again. this time with another "top __ list" to amuse and/or inform you.

when i was younger, to punish me, my parents would take all of my books away from me, prohibiting me from reading. that's right, i'm one of those kids. i love to read. however, i haven't had a lot of time to read as of late, mostly due to college being a pain in the rear and sucking up all of my valuable eyes to paper time.
but lucky for you, i've read plenty before, so i'm honored to bring you
my 'four books you need to read before you die' list.
enjoy.

4. the girl who loved tom gordon [stephen king, 1999]
i'm not a huge fan of scary things. movies, pictures, thoughts, etc., i'd rather just not deal with it. however, a friend of mine from high school suggested that i read this one, and i'm glad he did. it's not as scary as other things, but still chilling enough for me to want to read with the lights on.

3. the catcher in the rye [j.d. salinger, 1951]
this book is one of the better required readings i've had to live through during my high school career. either it's salinger's writing style or holden caulfield's unbridled angst that makes it oddly irresistable. at any rate, it's worth reading at least once, especially when you feel like everyone around you is a phony. (haha)

2. the count of monte cristo [alexandre dumas (pere), 1844]
i'll admit right now that i think classical literature is overrated. however, the count of monte cristo is the one exception to that belief of mine. i'm fully convinced that this book, if anything, is highly underrated. complete with components of revenge, love, mystery, high society, and adventure, it really is a book that everyone can like, in some aspect. also, for the love of all that is good and holy DO NOT watch the movie and assume you know what the book is all about. the movie was awful.

1. invisible monsters [chuck palahniuk, 1999]
i'm a huge fan of mr. palaniuk's work, and i could honestly say that any one of his works is well worth reading, however, i'm particularily fond of this novel because it was the first palahniuk novel i had ever read, and it also inspired me to pursue my desire to become a writer. to describe this book is to give it all away, so all i can tell you is read it. i promise you won't be disappointed.