Listmania!
Must-Read Outsider Fiction ---&gt The Ultimate List
A Long Way DownA Long Way Down by Nick Hornby
Buy used from: £0.01
Life's important questions probed on New Year's Eve night from various points of view. Beautifully written, sad and funny. Easily his best book since HIGH FIDELITY.
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering GeniusA Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers
Buy used from: £0.22
Phenomenal and dazzling debut, primarily about two brothers surviving the death of their parents. Dave Eggers is brilliant and this book will stand the test of time.
Slaughter House FiveSlaughter House Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Buy used from: £2.47
Possibly Vonnegut's best book -- certainly an enjoyable read!
Breakfast of ChampionsBreakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut
Buy new: £5.07 / Used from: £2.70
Another enjoyable Vonnegut book that will leave you smiling.
The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy: A Trilogy in Four PartsThe Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy: A Trilogy in Four Parts by Douglas Adams
Buy new: £6.96 / Used from: £0.01
An extremely enjoyable work for those (few) of you unfamiliar with it.
Post Office: A NovelPost Office: A Novel by Charles Bukowski
Buy used from: £2.99
Blunt and funny -- for times when you've lost all patience for precious literature.
FactotumFactotum by Charles Bukowski
Buy used from: £3.98
Another enjoyable down-and-out romp through blasted America.
The Losers ClubThe Losers Club by Richard Perez
Buy new: £6.38 / Used from: £2.17
From the neo-Bukowski school. If you've ever dreamt of being a writer and have nothing to show for it but a mountain of rejection letters, then you'll understand this book! Also funny.
TrainspottingTrainspotting by Irvine Welsh
Buy used from: £0.01
Of course, I needed to include this classic romp.
The Acid HouseThe Acid House by Irvine Welsh
Buy new: £5.02 / Used from: £0.01
A collection of shorter bits -- quite excellent.
Fight ClubFight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
Buy new: £4.61 / Used from: £2.95
Ennui in America. Go on pick a fight!
SurvivorSurvivor by Chuck Palahniuk
Buy new: £5.49 / Used from: £2.00
Another very smart book from this superb cutting-edge author.
ChokeChoke by Chuck Palahniuk
Buy new: £4.98 / Used from: £0.95
Another phenomenal novel from the author of Fight Club.
High FidelityHigh Fidelity by Nick Hornby
Buy new: £8.06 / Used from: £1.99
Beautifully Written -- and highly entertaining -- novel about loneliness and the impossibility of understanding the opposite sex. We've all been there.
Less Than Zero (Picador Books)Less Than Zero (Picador Books) by Bret Easton Ellis
Buy used from: £0.01
Ellis' first (some say, shabbily written) novel is still memorable -- short and unsettling, like a bad dream.
On the Road (Penguin Classics)On the Road (Penguin Classics) by Kerouac
Buy used from: £5.38
A fluidly written, very enjoyable novel. A rite of passage book in America.
The Dharma Bums (Penguin Modern Classics)The Dharma Bums (Penguin Modern Classics) by Jack Kerouac
Buy new: £6.46 / Used from: £4.12
Perhaps his second best book, one I have certainly enjoyed. Kerouac's short-lived infatuation with the Zen way of life.
Tropic of Capricorn (Modern Classics)Tropic of Capricorn (Modern Classics) by Henry Miller
Buy used from: £0.01
My favorite Henry Miller book. Well-sustained.
Tropic of Cancer (Harperperennial Classics)Tropic of Cancer (Harperperennial Classics) by Henry Miller
Buy used from: £1.91
My second favorite Miller book. His first: a groundbreaking work. Unconventional and desolate.
Fear and Loathing in Las VegasFear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
Buy used from: £1.46
A wonderful satire of American excess. Energetic and tense writing. Insanely funny.
A Million Little PiecesA Million Little Pieces by James Frey
Buy new: £4.29 / Used from: £0.01
A drug addict's long climb back from hell. Tough, gritty bare-bones writing. Compelling.
You Shall Know Our VelocityYou Shall Know Our Velocity by Dave Eggers
Buy used from: £8.99
Dave Eggers second book. Less hype with this one, but you'll enjoy it.
Geek LoveGeek Love by Katherine Dunn
Buy used from: £7.35
A fantastic and original novel. Truly one of a kind.
Burning in Water, Drowning in Flame: Selected Poems 1955-1973Burning in Water, Drowning in Flame: Selected Poems 1955-1973 by Charles Bukowski
Buy new: £6.79 / Used from: £5.10
Excellect collection of Bukowski's poetry. Start here if you've never read his work. America's obsession with winners and losers is plain to see. Bukowski sides with the losers.
Lolita (Penguin Classics)Lolita (Penguin Classics) by Vladimir Nabokov
Buy new: £5.46 / Used from: £3.51
I needed to include this haunting and oddly amusing masterpiece.