Literatura, Side A: Library

This is essentially a library of things I've read and would consider my favourite range of works. It includes books, graphic novels, short stories and more. The list is sorted alphabetically by title and will be updated whenever I finish a new book I enjoyed or whenever I remember something I've read in the past that is worth noting. To view some additional info about each selection, just hover your cursor over any cover. Credit for the summaries goes to GoodReads and other places within that realm. My most favourite genres are crime, science fiction and extreme horror but I will read anything so send me an email if you have any recommendations. Cheers.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Lewis Carroll The story details the adventure of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of different creatures. It is seen as an example of the literary nonsense genre.	American Psycho Bret Easton Ellis Patrick Bateman is twenty-six and he works on Wall Street, he is handsome, sophisticated, charming and intelligent. He is also a psychopath. Taking us to head-on collision with America's greatest dream - and its worst nightmare - American Psycho is a bleak, bitter, black comedy about a world we all recognise but do not wish to confront.	Black Hole Charles Burns Suburban Seattle, the mid-1970s. We learn from the out-set that a strange plague has descended upon the area's teenagers, transmitted by sexual contact. The disease is manifested in any number of ways—from the hideously grotesque to the subtle (and concealable)—but once you've got it, that's it. There's no turning back.	Brave New World Aldous Huxley In a World State inhabited by genetically modified people and an intelligence-based hierarchy, the novel anticipates huge advancements in reproductive technology, sleep-learning, psychological manipulation and conditioning that are combined to make a dystopian society which is challenged by only a single individual: the story's protagonist.	The Brothers Karamazov Fyodor Dostoevsky A murder mystery, courtroom drama, and an exploration of erotic rivalry in a series of triangular love affairs involving Fyodor Karamazov and his three sons – the impulsive and sensual Dmitri; the coldly rational Ivan; and the healthy, red-cheeked young novice Alyosha.
Burning Chrome William Gibson Automatic Jack, the narrator and a hardware specialist; and Bobby Quine, a software expert, are two freelance hackers. After Bobby becomes infatuated with a girl, the two men decide to break into the system of a notorious criminal called Chrome who handles money transfers for organized crime.	The Call of Cthulhu H.P. Lovecraft A harrowing short story of the weakness of the human mind when confronted by powers and intelligences from beyond our world.	A Clockwork Orange Anthony Burgess A vicious fifteen-year-old droog is the central character of this classic. In a near-future society, where the criminals take over after dark, the story is told by the central character, Alex, who talks in a brutal invented slang that brilliantly renders his and his friends' social pathology.	Crime and Punishment Fyodor Dostoevsky Raskolnikov commits a random murder without remorse. He imagines himself to be acting for a higher purpose beyond conventional law. As he embarks on a dangerous game of cat and mouse with an investigator, he's pursued by the growing voice of his conscience and finds his own guilt growing. Only Sonya, a downtrodden sex worker, can offer a chance of redemption.	Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Philip K. Dick It is January 2021, and Rick Deckard had a license to kill. Somewhere among the hordes of humans out there, lurked several rogue androids. Deckard's assignment--find them and then..."retire" them. Trouble was, the androids all looked exactly like humans, and they didn't want to be found!
Dracula Bram Stoker Solicitor Jonathan Harker takes a business trip to stay at the castle of a Transylvanian noble, Count Dracula.	Exquisite Corpse Poppy Z. Brite Serial killer Andrew Compton, who views murder as an intimate art form, fakes his own death in order to escape from prison and flees to the United States to continue his craft. Along the way he teams up with Jay Byrne, someone even more deranged than Andrew. They begin to hunt down a young Vietnamese-American runaway who they deem to be the most perfect victim.	Famous Impostors Bram Stoker A survey of the charlatans, rogues, and other practitioners of make-believe who bedevil and delight us. Stoker introduces us to many famous fakers including: royal pretenders, magicians, witches and clairvoyants, women masquerading as men hoaxers and others.	Flowers for Algernon Daniel Keyes A mentally disabled man's (Charlie) quest for intelligence mirrors that of Algernon, an extraordinary lab mouse. An operation increases his IQ and changes his life. As the procedure takes effect, Charlie's intelligence expands until it surpasses that of the doctors who engineered it. The experiment seems to be an important breakthrough until Algernon suddenly deteriorates. Will the same happen to Charlie?	Frankenstein Mary Shelley The story of a young scientist named Victor Frankenstein who creates life in a rather unorthodox manner. This is a classic and I'm sure everybody is familiar with it so I won't bore you with a lackluster explanation.
The Gates of Janus Ian Brady "To understand human character, one must first explore the depraved reaches of human consciousness." Serial killing and its analysis written by the one and only Ian Brady.	The Girl Next Door Jack Ketchum Meg and Susan are left captive to the savage whims and rages of a distant aunt who is rapidly descending into madness. It is a madness that infects all three of her sons and finally the entire neighborhood. Only one troubled boy stands hesitantly between Meg and Susan and their cruel, torturous deaths. A boy with a very adult decision to make.	Gone to See the River Man Kristopher Triana Lori has a deep obsession with serial killer Edmund Cox, who was convicted of slaughtering over twenty women. She will do absolutely anything to get close to him, so when Edmund says she must go to his cabin in the woods, retrieve a key and deliver it to a mysterious figure known only as The River Man, she obliges.	Haunted Chuck Palahniuk 23 stories in one novel, each by characters who have answered the ad: 'Artists Retreat: Abandon your life for three months'. They believe that this will help free them of distraction and writers block. It turns out they've been taken to an old theater totally isolated from the outside world. Food and other necessities are on a decrease. Their stories get more insane as supplies dwindle.	I Have No Mouth & I Must Scream Harlan Ellison A post-apocalyptic short story revolving around five humans who have been held captive by a mastercomputer. They've all been altered heavily in grotesque ways, and made virtually immortal without the ability to commit suicide, and are used for the computer's own sadistic pleasure as he tortures them.
Hollywood from Vietnam to Reagan Robin Wood An analyzation of 1970s films influenced by the likes of Watergate and Vietnam, and assembly of the much-discussed but scattered and inaccessible work on the modern horror film. There are also analyzations of Brian De Palma's films, 1980s fantasy cinema of Lucas and Spielberg, examinations of female directors' work, and celebrations of of Scorcese and Michael Cimino.	In Cold Blood Truman Capote On November 15, 1959, the Clutter family was murdered in Holcomb, Kansas. The murders were carried out by a swift shotgun with almost no clues or motive apparent. This is about the investigation, trial, and execution of the two killers - Perry Smith and Richard Hickock – and everything that led up to the events.	The Jaunt Stephen King In the 24th century, teleportation with technology becomes quite common and is referred to as "Jaunting". It allows for instant transportation, even to other planets. The government soon seized control of the project, demoting the original creator to a simple figurehead. Nobody could've foretold what serious side-effects such a breakthrough would bring.	Lolita Vladimir Nabokov Scholar Humbert Humbert has fallen completely in love with Dolores Haze, his landlady's twelve-year-old daughter. Reluctantly agreeing to marry Mrs Haze just to be close to Lolita, Humbert suffers greatly in the pursuit of romance; but when Lo herself starts looking for attention elsewhere, he carries her off on a desperate cross-country misadventure, all in the name of Love.	The Long Walk Stephen King On the first day of May, 100 teenage boys meet for an event known throughout the country as The Long Walk. If you break the rules, you get three warnings. If you exceed your limit, what happens is absolutely terrifying.
The Master and Margarita Mikhail Bulgakov The devil comes to Moscow with a naked witch and a talking cat, wrecking havoc in a city that is areligious. Two individuals, however are "blessed" by the opposite. The Master, a condemned writer; Margarita, who is in love with the Master to such an extent that she is willing to literally go to hell for him.	Maus Art Spiegelman A nonfiction work that is presented in the form of a postmodern graphic novel. It details the author's father's experiences during the Holocaust. The Jews are portrayed as mice, Germans as cats, Poles as pigs, Americans as dogs, Brits as fish, the French as frogs, the Swedish as reindeer, and the Roma as gypsy moths.	Midnight Robber Nalo Hopkinson To Tan-Tan, the Robber Queen is simply a favourite costume to wear at a festival--until her father commits an unforgivable crime and they both are thrust into the brutal world of New Half-Way Tree: mythical creatures are real and humans are violent outcasts. She must now reach into the heart of myth actually become the Robber Queen herself. For only the Robber Queen's powers can save her life.	A Midsummer Night's Dream William Shakespeare Demetrius and Lysander both want Hermia but she only has eyes for Lysander. On the outside is Helena, whose unreturned love burns hot for Demetrius. Hermia and Lysander plan to flee the city but are pursued by an enraged Demetrius, who himself is pursued by Helena. Meanwhile in the forest, the King and Queen of faeries are having a spat over a servant. Complications and mischief ensue.	The Minds of Billy Milligan Daniel Keyes Billy Milligan was a man tormented by twenty-four personalities battling for supremacy over his body. It culminated when he awoke in jail, arrested for the kidnap and rape of three women. In a landmark trial, Billy was acquitted of his crimes by reason of insanity caused by multiple personalities.
Mirai Nikki Sakae Esuno Yukiteru Amano and eleven others are part of The Diary Game, a deadly battle royal between individuals who are given "Future Diaries", special diaries that can predict the future, by Deus Ex Machina, the God of Time and Space, with the last survivor becoming his heir.	Misery Stephen King Paul Sheldon. He's a bestselling novelist who has finally met his biggest fan. Her name is Annie Wilkes and she is more than a rabid reader - she is Paul's nurse, tending his shattered body after an automobile accident. But she is also his captor, keeping him prisoner in her isolated house.	The Murders in the Rue Morgue Edgar Allan Poe C. Auguste Dupin is a man in Paris who solves the mystery of the brutal murder of two women. Numerous witnesses heard a suspect, though no one agrees on what language was spoken. At the murder scene, Dupin finds a hair that does not appear to be human.	Neuromancer William Gibson Henry was the sharpest data-thief in the business, until vengeful former employees crippled his nervous system. A new and mysterious employer then recruits him for a last-chance run. The target: an unthinkably powerful AI orbiting Earth in service of the sinister Tessier-Ashpool clan. With a dead man riding shotgun and a mirror-eyed street-samurai to watch his back, Henry embarks on a landmark journey.	Night Stalker Philip Carlo A telling of one of America's most infamous serial killers, Richard Ramirez. The book ranges from his earliest brushes with the law to his deadliest stalking expeditions and the manhunt that ensued, resulting in one of the most sensational trials in California.
The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas Ursula K. Le Guin With deliberately both vague and vivid descriptions, the narrator depicts a summer festival in the utopian city of Omelas, whose prosperity depends on the perpetual misery of a single child.	Other Voices, Other Rooms Truman Capote After losing his mother, Joel is sent from New Orleans to live with the father who abandoned him at birth. When he arrives at the decaying mansion in rural Alabama, his father is nowhere to be found. Instead, Joel meets his morose stepmother, Amy, eccentric cousin Randolph, and a defiant little girl named Idabel, who soon offers Joel the love and approval he seeks.	Panzram : Butchering Humanity Carl Panzram The autobiography of Carl Panzram, an American serial killer, arsonist and burglar. He confessed to having committed 21 murders and more than 1,000 acts of sodomy on males. Carl was executed in 1930.	Rust in Peace Dave Mustaine The inside story of Megadeth's masterpiece, 'Rust In Peace'.	Attack on Titan Hajime Isayama Eren Yeager lives in a world where humanity is forced to live in cities surrounded by three enormous walls, which protect them from gigantic man-eating humanoids referred to as Titans. He vows to exterminate the Titans after they bring about the destruction of his hometown and the death of his mother.
Shiver Junji Ito A solid selection of stories from Ito, self-selected with some added commentary about each one. The stories include realms where balloon faces hang from the sky after the death of an Idol, an amateur film crew hires a harrowing-looking model, and more.	Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Robert Louis Stevenson A London legal practitioner named Gabriel John Utterson investigates a series of strange occurrences between his old friend, Dr. Henry Jekyll, and a murderous criminal named Edward Hyde.	Summer Crossing Truman Capote A young socialite named Grady, whose parents leave her alone in their penthouse for the summer, is left to her own devices. She turns up the heat on the secret affair she's been having with a war veteran who works as a parking lot attendant. The romance turns more serious and morally ambiguous, and Grady must eventually make decisions that will forever affect her life and those around her.	The Tell-Tale Heart Edgar Allan Poe A narrator tries to convice the reader of his sanity while also describing a murder he committed. The narrator emphasizes the careful calculation of the murder, attempting the perfect crime, complete with dismembering the body in the bathtub and hiding it under the floorboards.	Tender is the Flesh Agustina Bazterrica When an infectious virus supposedly makes all animal meat poisonous to humans, the government initiates the "transition" – eating human meat is now legal. Marcos works in the business of slaughtering humans. When suddenly given a live specimen as a gift, he grows rather attached. He soon becomes tortured by what has been lost, and what might still be saved.
There Will Come Soft Rains Ray Bradbury A science fiction short story written as a chronicle about a lone house that stands intact in a California city that has otherwise been obliterated by a nuclear bomb, and then is destroyed in a fire caused by a windstorm.	Tokyo Ghoul Sui Ishida Student Ken Kaneki undergoes a surgery that transforms him into a half-ghoul, following an attack. He must consume human flesh to survive as well as keep his identity hidden from his human companions, especially from his best friend, Hideyoshi Nagachika.	Vampire Knight Matsuri Hino Yuki has no memory of her past prior to when she was saved from a vampire attack a decade ago. She was adopted by the headmaster of Cross Academy which has two classes: Day and Night. She and Zero Kiryu now protect the Day Class from the Academy's dark secret: the Night Class is vampires!	12 Chairs Ilya Ilf A con artist joins forces with a former nobleman to find a cache of missing jewels, hidden in chairs and appropriated by the authorities. The search takes them to far lengths as they encounter a wide variety of characters: opportunistic Soviet bureaucrats, aging survivors of the prerevolutionary propertied classes, each one more selfish and venal than the one before.	The 120 Days of Sodom Marquis de Sade The story of four wealthy men who enslave 24 mostly teenaged victims and sexually torture them while listening to stories told by old prostitutes.
1984 George Orwell If you don't already know this one, well then I can't help you. Another classic that only gets more relevant with time.	20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Jules Verne The story of Captain Nemo and his submarine Nautilus, as seen from the perspective of Professor Pierre Aronnax after he, his servant Conseil, and Canadian whaler Ned Land wash up on their ship. On the Nautilus, the three embark on a journey which has them going all around the world, under the sea.