Cult Book List

The London Telegraph listed the top 50 cult books, and I am blogging it because I have determined from the list that I must belong to a cult.

Of the 50, I have read more than a few of these. Often, I find these are lists of books made popular in the last 10 years and I am not a reader of popular books. I have read more than half. I have not read many recent books, so the newer ones on the list are a mystery to me.

Here are the ones that are on the list that I like.

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut – Probably the best Vonnegut – It leaves you in a cold sweat
The Alexandria Quartet by Lawrence Durrell – I think the it is the most intensely beautiful book(s) that ever written. I re-read it recently and have been inspired by ideas in the book.
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller – I haven’t read this in 35 years, but it did change my views on war and society.
The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger – I felt that I was Holden Caulfield when I read this as a teenager.
The Doors of Perception by Aldous Huxley – This book explains how to think about our senses. It was a hippie book.
Dune by Frank Herbert – Maybe the best all around SF book. I have read it at least 10 times by my count.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams – As a programmer I am intrigued by the number 42.
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe – Turned me on to Kerouac and the Beats.
Gödel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas R Hofstadter – brain candy.
Gravity’s Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon – Good, very intense book, but I was not as impressed as some. I must read it again.
Iron John: a Book About Men by Robert Bly – repackaging of Jung, but a good way to look at our cultural DNA.
On The Road by Jack Kerouac – What an asshole, but I read and re-read it.
The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran – I haven’t thought about this for years. It is romantic fluff, but it sticks with you.
The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám tr by Edward FitzGerald – I love the existential beauty of this.
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse – Another book read as a teenager that seems to echo on and on.
The Stranger by Albert Camus – I read this when I was a depressed 14 year old and it struck home.
Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche – hard work, and unpleasant conclusions, but full of brilliant moments.
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: an Inquiry into Values by Robert M Pirsig – Pirsig’s philosophical journey is wonderful, even if the arrival point is dissapointing.

It is near unbelievable that I have read more than half on the list and that I agree with these 18 at least as being very important books.

These books should be on the list.

– Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein – This is still a cult book and a good read.
– Rats Lice and History by Hans Zinsser – My Dad gave me this. It is the history of Plagues done very very well. I keep finding people who include this on their top 10 list.
– One Two Three Infinity by George Gamow – Seriously turned me on to Science and Math. This book has influenced more modern scientists than you can believe.
– Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien – It was a cult book until they made those awful movies.
– Neuromancer by William Gibson – The only book where I started over again on page one when I finished the last page. In 1990s I had decided that SF was dead. When I read this book I started plotting out stories that I eventually wrote down. Gibson made me want to write again. It is a very hard book to read and I don’t casually recommend it, but it is well worth the effort.

I am at work and have to look busy. Someday I’ll make a longer list of influential books.

Bloggers, you might want to check out the list on the telegraph and see if you agree with any of them.

50 best cult books – Telegraph

2 Comments

  1. J Erwine wrote:

    I guess I’m in that cult with you, because I’ve definitely read much of their list.

    Friday, April 25, 2008 at 10:49 am | Permalink
  2. Keith wrote:

    That’s the odd thing. Usually these lists are either just a list of best sellers over the years or else a list of obscure and usually awful books that someone is showing off about.

    These are meat and potatoes books that are important and readable, but aren’t really considered cool. Some of them, like The Bell Jar, and Fear of Flying, I’ve read, but did not enjoy. Some of them I picked up and put down after a few pages, but most of them really were influential.

    Friday, April 25, 2008 at 11:04 am | Permalink