Top Ten Tuesdays is a blogging activity hosted by The Broke And The Bookish. I never thought I'd say this one day, but I'm old school. Time and adulthood beat the teenage angst out of me. To me, teenagers could you more fear, discipline and responsibility in their diet. Learn what's productive and what's not. But I guess it comes with time and *AHEM* wisdom. A good grasp of your inner self leaves no place for drama, you know? So here are the ten books I'd give to teenagers to whip them into adulthood.
1-Chuck Palahniuk - Fight Club: Kind of a no-brainer. Accepting you're not special and taking responsibility for who you are and for the world you live in is an invigorating message. Palahniuk is a gifted messenger. His prose is lean, minimalist and packed with ideas.
2-Cormac McCarthy - No Country For Old Men: Beside the obvious lesson in funky grammar, there's a message here. Money's nice, but never chose it over human beings. Not that trouble of biblical proportions might ensue, but it will make the others chose money over you too.
3-Henry Rollins - Get In The Van: "America 101, right in the teeth" said Rollins. It's his story. The story of a young man who leaves the realm of his childhood and goes face to face with a society that is slowly drowning in its own paranoia. Great chronicle of the Reagan years and loss of innocence.
4-Anthony Neil Smith - The Billy Lafitte Saga: Be an asshole and you will start a shitstorm you won't be able to stop. No matter who you want to be, your actions dictate who you are to the others. The world has its own karmic laws. Stir enough shit and it will catch up to you.
5-Alan Moore - V For Vendetta: There is the law and there is what you believe in. You can chose to be an anonymous face in the crowd and be safe, or you can chose to stand for what you believe in and go down in a blaze of glory. Plus, it's a graphic novel so there are killer drawings.
6-Yukio Mishima - The Temple Of The Golden Pavillion: The pursuit of knowledge, beauty and other theoretical goals are no substitute for life itself. Humanity resides in balance. Finding that balance is the highest thing you can achieve, no matter how seductive your intellectual and emotional longing can be.
7-Daniel Woodrell - Winter's Bone: Short, not a difficult read and it's a good representation of what family really is. It's something you can't escape and yet it's an untapped resource you keep overlooking. Because you can't escape it, you know?
8-Suzanne Collins - The Hunger Games: A shitty situation doesn't mean you have to turn into a shitty human being. The end doesn't justify the means. You might have to take difficult decisions, but your soul has no cost. I didn't finish reading the book yet and I can already tell you that much.
9-Philip K. Dick - Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?: Son, it's just a good read overall, but the point is this. It's not because a person is different that she's inferior. Humanity is a pretty damn arbitrary thing.
10-Chuck Klosterman - Fargo Rock City: Klosterman's obviously overdoing it for comedic (read commercial) purpose. But his whole body of work has a point. You have to keep a critical distance with what you learn in school and with the world you live in.
1-Chuck Palahniuk - Fight Club: Kind of a no-brainer. Accepting you're not special and taking responsibility for who you are and for the world you live in is an invigorating message. Palahniuk is a gifted messenger. His prose is lean, minimalist and packed with ideas.
2-Cormac McCarthy - No Country For Old Men: Beside the obvious lesson in funky grammar, there's a message here. Money's nice, but never chose it over human beings. Not that trouble of biblical proportions might ensue, but it will make the others chose money over you too.
3-Henry Rollins - Get In The Van: "America 101, right in the teeth" said Rollins. It's his story. The story of a young man who leaves the realm of his childhood and goes face to face with a society that is slowly drowning in its own paranoia. Great chronicle of the Reagan years and loss of innocence.
4-Anthony Neil Smith - The Billy Lafitte Saga: Be an asshole and you will start a shitstorm you won't be able to stop. No matter who you want to be, your actions dictate who you are to the others. The world has its own karmic laws. Stir enough shit and it will catch up to you.
5-Alan Moore - V For Vendetta: There is the law and there is what you believe in. You can chose to be an anonymous face in the crowd and be safe, or you can chose to stand for what you believe in and go down in a blaze of glory. Plus, it's a graphic novel so there are killer drawings.
6-Yukio Mishima - The Temple Of The Golden Pavillion: The pursuit of knowledge, beauty and other theoretical goals are no substitute for life itself. Humanity resides in balance. Finding that balance is the highest thing you can achieve, no matter how seductive your intellectual and emotional longing can be.
7-Daniel Woodrell - Winter's Bone: Short, not a difficult read and it's a good representation of what family really is. It's something you can't escape and yet it's an untapped resource you keep overlooking. Because you can't escape it, you know?
8-Suzanne Collins - The Hunger Games: A shitty situation doesn't mean you have to turn into a shitty human being. The end doesn't justify the means. You might have to take difficult decisions, but your soul has no cost. I didn't finish reading the book yet and I can already tell you that much.
9-Philip K. Dick - Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?: Son, it's just a good read overall, but the point is this. It's not because a person is different that she's inferior. Humanity is a pretty damn arbitrary thing.
10-Chuck Klosterman - Fargo Rock City: Klosterman's obviously overdoing it for comedic (read commercial) purpose. But his whole body of work has a point. You have to keep a critical distance with what you learn in school and with the world you live in.