1. "The Chronology of Water" by Lidia Yuknavitch
What it's about: An "anti-memoir" on a writer's journey to survive.
Why you need it:It will save your life before you know it.
Further suggestions: "Dora: A Headcase," "The Small Backs of Children"
2. "Written on the Body" by Jeanette Winterson
What it's about: The affair between an unnamed, ungendered narrator and a woman named Louise.
Why you need it:You will make the groundbreaking realization of how irrelevant the narrator’s name and gender are to your growing empathy and affection for them.
Further suggestions: "The Gut Symmetries," "Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit"
3. "Middlesex" by Jeffrey Eugenides
Why you need it: It will make you the witness of everything that gets left out in contemporary debates about gender and sexuality.
Further suggestions: "The Virgin Suicides"
4. "Beautiful You" by Chuck Palahniuk
What it's about: The apocalyptic possibilities of marketing female pleasure.
Why you need it: You will learn everything you need to know about obsession with pleasure (and how to prevent an apocalypse from it).
Further suggestions: "Invisible Monsters," "Diary," "Fight Club"
5. "The Angel's Game" by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
What it's about: The (lack of) boundaries between an artist and his work.
Why you need it: Apart from the ridiculously quotable writing and igniting a never-ending thirst for Barcelona, this book will make you question everything you believe in.
Further suggestions: "The Shadow of the Wind," "The Prisoner of Heaven"
6. "Brief Interviews With Hideous Men" by David Foster Wallace
What it's about:The contemporary male psyche as dissected through overheard conversations and imaginary interviews.
Why you need it: The characters talk about everything you never wanted to talk about, so you won’t have to.
Further suggestions: "Girl with Curious Hair," "Infinite Jest," "Big Red Son
"7. "House of Leaves" by Mark Z. Danielewski
What it's about: A love story disguised as a horror story.
Why you need it: It will undo every rule you have ever been taught about writing and you will never go back again.
No Further Suggestions
