Authors I Love: Charles Bukowski

So I'm probably not really qualified to write an entire blog on Bukowski. I honestly don't know that much about the fellow. My Bukowski experiences are limited to two. The first involves me being rather liquored up, on my friend Kile's mattress in his uber-bohemian place, while he read me Bukowski and we listened to Connor Oberst. The second, culminates as of yesterday with my completion of Ham on Rye .

It didn't take me long to finish Ham on Rye and I think that's what I liked about it. It may also have been that it was a rather easy break from pages and pages of Palahniuk that can get a bit complex at times. Bukowski is pretty straight forward, no sugar coating necessary, and at least in this instance, he takes on a rather masculine tone, which I seem to handle better then reading the Bronte sisters. Romantic, I am not.

I also loved the ability to read Bukowski on the train and not have to stop in the middle of a chapter when I reached my stop. In fact, I'm considering buying a Bukowski novel for a poet friend of mine for Christmas, who doesn't like to read because he claims that books cannot hold his attention span long enough for him to finish them. Either way, I think that I'll read Bukowski again in the future, though I may need a slight break from all that craziness.

One Day Our Kids Will Mock Us

Dear Vanessa Hudgens,

I think you're pretty adorable, and even though you were young, and stupid, and maybe a little naive to jeopardize your career at Disney to gain the attention of a boy by sending him naked pictures, I'm still on your side. As someone on your side, let me ask you this, have you looked at pictures of your mom from the 80s? I've spent many a days in my youth mocking my mom's uber-80s style, and although I at times recreate those same styles, I avoid having my picture taken (let alone being plastered all over the pages of Us Weekly and People) when I'm wearing said styles.

That being said, this is a bit ridiculous and over the top dontcha think?

Authors I Love: Bret Easton Ellis

I go through a lot of phases. I go through phases of intense exercises, phases of eating peanut butter obsessively, and phases of reading every book by one author. This summer that phase was Bret Easton Ellis. The author of Less Than Zero , The Rules of Attraction, and American Psycho , I couldn't put any of his books down. Sure, they're a bit bizarre, and somewhat graphic (okay, I'm sure American Psycho is super graphic, but I haven't read that one yet, it's happening soon, I promise). I just can't help but love everything about the ease of reading his working, and the attitude of the super privileged.

I'm sure many people have seen the movie versions of his books. I remember watching Rules of Attraction in the days of my youth, but I now have a much bigger appreciation for the film, even if it does star James Van Der Beek (excuse the capitalization and spelling, I don't care enough to look it up). However, if you've seen the 80's classic Less Than Zero starring Andrew McCarthy and a very young and delicious Robert Downey Jr., don't let that be a deciding factor of B.E.E., the movie is a horrible interpretation of the book (in my opinion). The good news is that B.E.E. is supposedly writing a sequel to this book due out in 2010.

I am not a literary critic or genius, but I know what I like, know that I love these books, and all I can do is pass them on. So seriously, go out there and pick one up, I suggest starting with Less Than Zero his first novel, still written when he was a college student on an meth binge. How could you not want to read something like that?