file under: whoknows whatpop (pt. ii)

as mentioned earlier, thinking and talking about favorite things amongst friends has produced some surprising (and, at times, revealing) answers.

what's odd is that i'm finding it a bit of an awkward subject to broach as often as i'd like to. i mean, i wouldn't mind knowing everyone's favorite movie, or song, or album, or book. but in reality, i've only asked one co-worker about such things, and i was so painfully conscious of my forced off-handedness that i decided to avoid the topic with other people. not everyone cottons to the nerdy stuff, after all.

but still, it's hard not to engage in such list-making activities, once the seed has been planted.

and it is with that admission in mind that i bring up favorite books.

now, i'm not as well-read as some, but i've spent many a day curled up on the sofa with a book tented over my face (often snoring my brains out). but at some point, the pleasure derived from reading a good book started to wane, and in its place came the vague sensation of being emotionally manipulated. i therefore started reading more non-fiction than fiction about 10 years ago. that transition will most likely turn up in the second half of my top ten, which might go something like this (in a very rough but not absolute order):

1) gravity's rainbow, by thomas pynchon
2) on the road, by jack kerouac
3) nine stories, by j.d. salinger
4) alice's adventures in wonderland and through the looking glass, by lewis carroll
5) city of glass, by paul auster

6) leaves of grass, by walt whitman
7) introduction to zen buddhism, by d.t. suzuki
8) the golden bough, by james frazer
9) bend sinister, by vladimir nabokov
10) cometbus #45, by aaron cometbus

so what are yours?

[next week: albums!]