Klathu...Varratha...Nik*cough*. Just kidding. So 2011 is coming up in a few weeks and one of the most awesome things about it is that there's a lot of crazy, kick-ass books I haven't read. Since I don't really give a damn about new releases and hate hardcovers, I'm not really anticipating any release (Dennis Lehane is not likely to publish anything this year). I will buy and read The Pale King, but that's about it. Maybe I'll check out Damned, from Chuck Palahniuk also as the premise looks interesting. I left it out of my list. Here are the top 10 books, WITHIN LITERARY HISTORY, I'm looking forward to the most in 2011.
1-Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace: It's going to happen. I don't know exactly when, but I'm going to give a lot of my time and focus to this novel, somewhere in 2011. And I'm expecting it to change my life at some degree.
2-Libra by Don DeLillo: I'm developing a taste for conspiracy theories and according to James Ellroy (who wrote a novel about the subject himself), it's the best novel about JFK Assassination there is.
3-The Executioner's Song by Norman Mailer: I have this twisted fascination for death penalty. And I love, love, love the writing of Norman Mailer.
4-Freedom by Jonathan Franzen: From what I understand, it's even better than The Corrections. But I'm taking his fiction in chronological order. I'm also waiting for the paperback edition.
5-A Heartbreaking Work Of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers: I respect the work of Eggers with McSweeney's a lot. I'm also always curious about how you can turn such a drama into a winning combination like this book.
6-This Is Water: Some Thoughts, Delivered On A Significant Occasion, About Living A Compassionate Life by David Foster Wallace: I had read his novels, essays and short stories. But what about a speech? And his last publication before he died?
7-My Dark Places by James Ellroy: It's a memoir, but it's also the crime story that defined who Ellroy is. I like this sort of thing, when the wall in between the work and his work crumbles.
8-A Mad Dash by Henry Rollins: If I can find a friggin' copy. Sometimes I even wonder if I just imagined this book. Rollins' stuff is not easy to get a hold of in Canada.
9-Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut: Because Vonnegut is aggressive, bitter and always a lot of fun. I'm sure it's going to be the sleeper of my reading challenge.
10-The Bastard Hand by Heath Lowrance: He's a buddy, he's awesome and I'm sure it's going to own. Plus, I can get behind any book that self-describes as "Violent, offensive, over-the-top and occasionally brilliant"
