I saw a post this morning that linked to the 100 books every

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I saw a post this morning that linked to the 100 books every man should read, and upon going through the list, I was unimpressed. Some of the picks were ridiculous (The Bible?), and some a little heavy-handed (The Prince?). I guess my problem with lists like these is that they are so long and sprawling

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk. Tough lead here. It's a book that's as much about alienation as it is about machismo and nihilism. It's scary that many of us in the early throes of adulthood are lost in the sense that we hit a certain age, get a diploma and/or a job, and stop and say "now what? Is this what the rest of my life is going to be?" Tyler Durden is like the manic pixie dreambro, an agent of chaos who can save the world by breaking it, or so he has you convinced. This is a book that speaks to the disenchantment of my generation, built to reach the stars only to graduate into a much colder world, and the thing about Fight Club is that it shows how badly insecure people want an answer, any answer.
Ask the Dust by John Fante. Arturo Bandini is a young man in his early 20s trying to make it as a writer in LA in the 1930's. It's so easy to relate to him, because as a narrator, he's so candid. He makes his guilt, shame, pride, ego, failure, success all so palpable that it's like I'm right there beside him. It's a good counter to Fight Club because it's less cynical, more hopeful, and yet cripplingly tragic in a very soft-spoken way (read the book and that will make sense). This is the second in the "Bandini Quartet," four novels featuring Fante's alter ego. You don't need to read the first for any context here--they all stand alone very well. What's the book about? The reality of chasing one's dreams.
East of Eden by John Steinbeck. I really wanted to avoid the run of the mill classics here, because duh, if you are a reader, you should read the classics. This book transcends a classic. It's about fathers and sons, heroes and whores. It's a tome, but it really picks up steam about 200 pages in, and it's so gripping. It's about growing old, and family, and trying to make things right, pride, honor--it's got so much important stuff, and Steinbeck can be subtle, I love the man, but he has no problem hitting you over the head in this one from time to time.
"Winter Dreams" by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Heart wrenching tale about love. This is one of the stories he wrote while he tried out a bunch of the Gatsby ideas. It's a growing up sort of story.
Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut. I love me some Vonnegut. He's so very good. This is one that falls outside of his "classics." He fools around with time being a set single line, Tralfamadorians, and his general absurdist take on everyday life. This is a novel about hope, failure, loss, and redemption. A man (and his dog) who has come unstuck from time figures out a way to save the world and humanity. It's Vonnegut's second novel, and I think it's his best, but I also think all of his stuff is incredible.