Ten great books

Today I feel like making a list... ten great books, although not necessarily in order of greatness, plus links to their Amazon pages should you wish to look further...

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck.

This is one of my all-time favourite novels. I particularly admire the way the narrative swings from "Big picture" glimpses of dust storms, people being turned off the land, roadside diners and migrant camps to the "detailed picture" and the story of the Joad family and their struggle to survive. Some critics say the ending is unsatisfactory and I'm inclined to agree that it does leave a lot of loose ends. However, after the journey the reader has followed it is quite a relief to reach the last page.

Harper Perennial Modern Classics - Best of Myles writings by Flann O'Brien.

Brilliant extracts from columns written for the Irish Times under the nom de plume of Myles na gCopaleen. Includes a brilliant description of a book handling service for rich people who want to have well-thumbed books on show to give the impression that they are cultured but lack the intelligence to read them...

The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (Penguin Modern Classics) by Carson McCullers.

Play the Piano Drunk Like an Percussion Instrument Until the Fingers Begin to Bleed a Bit poems by Charles Bukowski.

The Complete Poems (Classics) by Ben Jonson.

A Handful of Dust (Penguin Modern Classics) by Evelyn Waugh.

Selected Poems by Bertolt Brecht.

Ubu Roi (Dover Thrift Editions) by Alfred Jarry

Collected Poems (Penguin Modern Classics Poetry) by Patrick Kavanagh.

Crackpot: The Obsessions of John Waters by John L Waters.

Well that's ten and already I've thought of the first of many glaring omissions...

Whatever happened to The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger?

More will be thought of... maybe that's another blog post...