Garrick Hoffman

This past summer, I was able to get around to tackling a few books that I’m super pleased to have completed. Unfortunately, there’s a couple others that are still beckoning for my attention (Under The Banner of Heaven, by Jon Krakauer, and Cosmos, by Carl Sagan). Good thing books don’t audibly cry as a result of reader negligence, because the ones I didn’t complete would have probably been thrown off my roof by now. Hopefully I won’t treat my future crying children the same way. Only time will tell.

Here’s the short list that I can only suggest you read. Now it’s up to you to actually follow through with my suggestions.

Band of Brothers, Stephen Ambrose – An international bestseller that was subsequently adapted into a popular TV miniseries (which was produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg), Band of Brothers tells the tale of Easy Company, a component of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment and 101st Airborne Division during World War II. Beginning their jump training in Toccoa, Georgia, Easy went on to engage in some fierce battles throughout Europe, including battles in Normandy, France; Bastogne, Belgium; and eventually finding themselves in Hitler’s “Eagle’s Nest” in Germany, an incredibly opulent retreat for the Führer mounted above the town of Berchtesgaden in the Bavarian Alps. At the center of the story is Major Richard Winters, who led his men throughout the most fearsome of combat conceivable. With a blend of horror, humor, anger, camaraderie and tenderness, not to mention the fascinating historical and nonfictional elements, Band of Brothers is one worth picking up, especially for the history/war junkies out there.

Cujo, Stephen King – I’m so glad I finally got around to this one. Like King’s The Shining and Different Seasons, I was always so excited to return to this book after I finished a chapter. Although I loved it, it wasn’t quite what I expected, story-wise – I had always heard about Cujo, and I imagined a behemoth of a St. Bernard terrorizing an entire town and leaving lifeless, bloodied corpses scattered throughout the streets (which actually sounds a lot like another one of King’s stories, The Stand). But instead, the dog went on to terrorize just a few people in a small neighborhood, and the story also has a few sub-plots within it. Cujo himself isn’t a Stephen King-typical diabolical beast, in that his madness becomes a result of a transmission of rabies after he’s bitten by a bat, rather than becoming possessed by some demonic entity. There’s nothing supernatural about it, which strays from King’s typical horror works, especially the ones dating in the 70’s and 80’s, the latter of which Cujo falls into. And here’s a couple of fun facts about Cujo: the dog’s name was actually based on the nom de guerre (war name) of Willie Wolfe, a member of the Symbionese Liberation Army in the 1970s who went on to orchestrate the kidnapping and subsequent SLA integration of media figure Patty Hearst, which garnered a great deal of notoriety at the time. Another fun fact: in King’s On Writing memoir, King informs the reader that the writing of Cujo was an experience he hardly remembers at all. He was intoxicated on alcohol during virtually the entire process.

Fight Club, Chuck Palahniuk – Okay, I can’t stress enough how important it is to read this book. Beyond its sheer entertainment value, it’s also a rattling counter-culture commentary. Virtually every chapter contains at least one memorable passage. You may have seen the movie, but if it’s been a while, watch it again and you might recognize its message.

Centralized in the story is an unnamed protagonist who struggles with insomnia and goes on to seek his own self-medicated treatment: a radical form of psychotherapy. That psychotherapy? A weekly group meeting entitled Fight Club, conceived by the protagonist and his new friend Tyler where members find liberation from their 9-5s and vapid lives through vicious physical violence unto one another. It’s all in good fun for the members, however, since they’re all there for one collected purpose rather than out of animosity.

Woven throughout the story are remarks and insights of anti-consumerism, materialism, and society; attacks on the American Dream; what God means; encouragement of social upheaval to subvert the hierarchy of America, and ever so much more. The book serves as a wealth of societal, cultural, and existential insights that could make you think twice about the very society, culture, and existence you inhabit. I’m sure the book is and has been dissected in some college courses by now. One of my favorite quotes: “I’d rather kill you than see you working a shit job for just enough money to buy cheese and watch television.”

So, reader, I implore you to explore at least one of these books. Do yourself a favor, wouldja?