Books I Love

• Lori Palminteri
• Uncategorized
• March 17, 2014

1. John Dies at the End, David Wong

This is one of my favorite books.  It combines most of my favorite things in a good story: drugs, dimensions, time travel, humor, horror, and adventure.  The main characters John and Dave get their hands on this drug called “soy sauce.”  The sauce then allows them to see things in other dimensions.  Despite the fact that the sauce ruins everyone’s lives, if I were offered the soy sauce, I would do it for sure.  The sequel is also great, This Book is Full of Spiders.

Here’s a link for the movie, which was pretty good, but you should really read the book first.

“The greatest trick the Devil pulled was convincing the world there was only one of him.” – David Wong, John Dies at the End

2. House of Leaves, Mark Z. Danielewski

This is quite possibly the most terrifying book I’ve ever read.  It’s not scary, really, but it’s so so creepy, and when you’re reading it you get this feeling that’s particularly hard to describe.  It starts off as this family buying a new house.  The house starts to expand on the inside, though on the outside, it remains the same. They decide to explore the dark corridors of the expanding house, and it’s intense.

“I still get nightmares.  In fact, I get them so often I should be used to them by now.  I’m not.  No one ever really gets used to nightmares.” – Mark Z.Danielewski, House of Leaves

3. Me Talk Pretty One Day, David Sedaris

Half of this list could easily be all books by David Sedaris.  He is my favorite writer, and a huge inspiration to why I wanted to do comedy.  I met David once, and I was so star struck.  I’m not an easily star struck person.  I literally had no words, and my friend had to break the ice.  He was so nice, and impressed that I was a stand-up comic.  All his books are great, though this is my favorite.  He’s so funny, and is a master at observing humans.

“For the first twenty years of my life, I rocked myself to sleep. It was a harmless enough hobby, but eventually, I had to give it up. Throughout the next twenty-two years I lay still and discovered that after a few minutes I could drop off with no problem. Follow seven beers with a couple of scotches and a thimble of good marijuana, and it’s funny how sleep just sort of comes on its own. Often I never even made it to the bed. I’d squat down to pet the cat and wake up on the floor eight hours later, having lost a perfectly good excuse to change my clothes. I’m now told that this is not called “going to sleep” but rather “passing out,” a phrase that carries a distinct hint of judgment.” – David Sedaris, Me Talk Pretty One Day

4. Scar Tissue, Anthony Kiedis

Red Hot Chili Peppers leading man, Anthony Kiedis wrote quite possibly the best autobiography I’ve ever read.  It’s all sex, drugs, and rock and roll.  It is amazing. If you’re a Red Hot Chili Peppers fan, this is a must read.

“I’ve wanted to feel pleasure to the point of insanity. They call it getting high, because it’s wanting to know that higher level, that godlike level. You want to touch the heavens, you want to feel glory and euphoria, but the trick is it takes work. You can’t buy it, you can’t get it on a street corner, you can’t steal it or inject it or shove it up your ass, you have to earn it.” – Anthony Keidis, Scar Tissue

5. Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll

I have to include this classic on my list.  It’s the one book I’ve read several times, over and over, more than any other book.  If you’ve never read it, it really is great read.  It’s trippy, laced with great quotes and life philosophies.  I first read it as a small child, and read it every few years.  Like most of my favorites, it’s a combination of drugs, dimensions, and generally fucked advice about life.

“I wonder if I’ve been changed in the night. Let me think. Was I the same when I got up this morning? I almost think I can remember feeling a little different. But if I’m not the same, the next question is ‘Who in the world am I?’ Ah, that’s the great puzzle!” – Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

6. Illusions (The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah), Richard Bach

This book came highly recommended to me by my good friend and comic Dennis Rooney.  We have an unofficial book club, though he’ll never admit to it.  I think this should be a required reading for everyone.  It’s a great philosophical read, and I promise you will be a happier person after reading it.

“If you will practice being fictional for a while, you will understand that fictional characters are sometimes more real than people with bodies and heartbeats.” – Richard Bach, Illusions 

7. Women, Charles Bukowski

Bukowski is an alcoholic asshole and I love it.  I wasn’t sure which Bukowski book to use on this list, and you might want to start with an earlier book like Factotum before reading Women.  It is an ugly book that emphasizes how shitty life and people are, and yet so insightful.  Also, there’s a lot of sex.  This is not your 50 Shades of Grey sex.  It’s raw, shameful sex.  It’s fantastic.

“I was glad I wasn’t in love, that I wasn’t happy with the world. I like being at odds with everything. People in love often become edgy, dangerous. They lose their sense of perspective. They lose their sense of humor. They become nervous, psychotic bores. They even become killers.” – Charles Bukowski, Women

8. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Hunter S. Thompson

Are you seeing a trend yet?  I love Gonzo journalism.  And for some fucked up reasons I don’t really understand I wanted to be Hunter S. Thompson long before I ever tried drugs.  (For those reading this who know my love for Johnny Depp, I do love the movie also, but I read the book first and it is better.)  Even if you’ve seen the movie already, I still recommend the book.

“We had two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high powered blotter acid, a salt shaker half full of cocaine, and a whole galaxy of multi-colored uppers, downers, screamers, laughers… and also a quart of tequila, a quart of rum, a case of Budweiser, a pint of raw ether and two dozen amyls.
Not that we needed all that for the trip, but once you get locked into a serious drug collection, the tendency is to push it as far as you can.” – Hunter S. Thomspon, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

9. My French Whore, Gene Wilder

This is a little known book by a very well known author/actor/director/quite possibly one of the most awesome people ever, Gene Wilder.  His book a humorous love story taking place in World War I.  I lent someone this book and they never gave it back to me, and I still hold a grudge.  I want it back.  It’s mine.

“I like writing books. I’d rather be at home with my wife.  I can write, take a break, come out, have a glass of tea, give my wife a kiss, and go back in and write some more.  It’s not so bad.  I am really lucky.” – Gene Wilder

10. Diary, Chuck Palahnuik

I’ve read a few Palahnuik books, and I decided to put Diary on this list.  Maybe it’s because it’s the most recent one I’ve read, but this is a hard to put down page turner.  What I love about Palahnuik, is his ability to create new narrators.  When you read a lot by the same author, usually they can’t break away from their own style.  If this book didn’t have his name on it, I would not have known he wrote it. He’s so talented.  It’s a first person narrative “diary” for her husband who’s in a coma because he tried to kill himself.  A conspiracy unfolds with his family, and it’s pure Palahnuik madness.

“your handwriting. the way you walk. which china pattern you choose. it’s all giving you away. everything you do shows your hand. everything is a self portrait. everything is a diary.” – Chuck Palahnuik, Diary

That’s my list.  Please feel free to comment below and make some recommendations for me.  Clearly, I’m partial to first person narratives where the narrator is both insane and on drugs.  Pictured is me, reading and drinking in the sun, two pastimes I love (I’m reading a Sedaris novel there).