I’ve always told people I have a top five list of favorite books. I thought I’d post them here and why I love each of them.
The Stranger by Albert Camus
It’s the perfect mix of existentialism, absurdism, and detachment, which are three things that resonate with me. Mersault’s indifference and refusal to play along with society’s expectations, and his ultimate acceptance of the absurdity of life align with my own views.
The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus
This book gave me a framework to make peace with the absurd. Instead of drowning in nihilism or clinging to false meaning, Camus handed me a third option: defiance. I don’t have to pretend life has inherent meaning, but I also don’t have to collapse under that realization. I can push the boulder up the hill, knowing it’s pointless, and still find joy in the act.
Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
It’s a chaotic, sprawling, brilliant mess, just like the world it critiques. It takes on capitalism, addiction, entertainment, and the crushing weight of modern existence, all with a mix of absurd humor and gut-wrenching sincerity.
At it’s core, it’s about resistance. Against addiction, against passive entertainment, against the numbness that capitalism and media try to impose.
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
Pure, unfiltered chaos — violence, fate, and the raw, indifferent brutality of the universe laid bare. It doesn’t try to comfort you; it forces you to stare into the abyss and see it staring back. It doesn’t just tell a story. It drags you through hell and leaves you to make sense of it yourself.
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
One of the most powerful indictments of capitalism and injustice ever written, and it does so with raw emotion and unflinching truth. It isn’t just about suffering; it’s about resistance, solidarity, and the idea that even in the face of crushing exploitation, people can come together and fight back.
Steinbeck’s anger at the system is palpable, but he doesn’t preach; he shows. He makes you feel the desperation, the hunger, the betrayal by a system designed to grind people down, but at the same time there’s that threat of quiet, unwavering defiance.
Sisyphus Shrugged 
I have 3 of those on order now, but I have read the Stranger and Grapes of Wrath, both great books. I do like Steinbeck, I think we’ve spoken about these before. I should have Blood Meridian soon, looking forward to it!
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Grapes of Wrath is the only Steinbeck book I’ve read, but if his other works are anywhere near as great as that one, I need to check them out. I’ve been meaning to read East of Eden forever, I just haven’t gotten around to it. You’ll have to let me know what you think of Blood Meridian when you finish it!
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I think you’d like his books, The moon is down too – that’s a short but good read, I like the style, actually people wrote beautifully back then, it’s getting rare to find something modern that’s any good. Mostly they are quirky women’s books or books about suffering in countries I don’t want to visit.
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I got a book one year about North Sentinel Island, thinking it was going to be informative. I’ve had an obsession with that place since I read about it on cracked.com, then the dipshit trying to go there to convert the people of the island. Anyway, the book was just a fictional account of what the writer thinks happens on the island. I was so disappointed.
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What a massive let down, I’d have read that with lady wood! I read about that guy who went to convert them and ended up speared, good times!
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If we’re talking fiction, and I know you’re not asking, ha, but I think I recently mentioned Haruki Murakami to you. A current obsession, 1Q84 is my recent favorite. His newest, The City And It’s Uncertain Walls is great. His is not a genre that would typically appeal to me but it’s fluid and the way he tells a story is gorgeous and smart, deals with human emotion. He has a mix of non-fiction in his long list of works too so there’s that.
I’m terrible at choosing favorite books. It’s too difficult but Steinbeck was a favorite when I was young and I have such fond memories of the experience of Grapes and Eden. Visiting Cannery Row in person many times makes that book super interesting for me as well.
Now Camus, yum. All wonderful and with The Stranger, the same things resonated with me as did with you. You’ve a few on that list I’d have to look up and I’ll take that challenge.
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The only Murakami book I’m familiar with is Kafka on the Shore, which I have on my booklist that I have in my notebook. I’m avoiding Amazon so I’ve been jotting down books and such I want to read in a notebook and buying them elsewhere. I also have his book Norwegian Wood jotted down to read in the future.
I’m always happy to know another Camus lover. His works have saved me over the years if I’m being honest without sounding too cheesy.
Infinite Jest was the most challenging of these books. It took me six months to read it the first time and four months to read it the second time. It’s 1,000 pages plus 200+ pages of footnotes, but finishing it is so rewarding. I plan on reading it a third time sometime in the future, but I have to mentally prepare myself for it.
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I always avoid Amazon. I understand. I like hands on shopping. Suits my mind and fingers best. I’ll have to check that Camus book out, after I obsess over Murakami some more
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