hmm- i guess it is philosophical/contemplative. i guess i like 'odd literary' stuff - not quite surreal but weird and formally innovative. my list of regular authors:
haruki murakami
david mitchell
saramago (the guy who wrote blindness)
i'm loving the new juno diaz book - brief wondrous life of oscar wao
there was a great book called Remainder i really dug a few years back and a book called raw shark texts (which was ok but not as good as i hoped). a great french novel called school's out that has really stuck with me for years.

Not sure what they would come under in the poll but I'm a big fan of Charles Bukowski, Jim Carroll and Kurt Vonegut.

I have favorites too all-over-the-place to pick just one off of that list.

Actually, two of my favorite books ever, The Sirens of Titan (Vonnegut) and The Crying of Lot 49 (Pynchon) cover several genres just by themselves.

I do love classics, too, though. The Brothers Karamazov, Spoon River Anthology, and Animal Farm are a few other favorites of mine.

Oh, I could go on forever, though.

The last great canonical book I read was A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. It's truly one of the funniest books I've ever read.

Ditto, ditto, ditto on all of those names... Been a while since I've indulged in their writings, though. I should really pick them up again.

Satire/ Comedy

If it's not gonna make me gasp, I want it to make me laugh.

Hmmmm, I see a pattern there, but I think I'll leave that alone. :D

Whatever happened to Jenna26?

It costs like thirty bucks, but I wholeheartedly recommend the Essential Ellison.

Buckowski and Carroll are dirty realism, but ____V____ seems to be ignoring it. Vonegut is haed to categorise but can easily be pushed into sci fi....

Oooooooooooooooo - Nice. 'Twil add it to my Amazon Wish List now.

My friend loaned me a collection of HP Lovecraft short stories which I've never been through. It's shameful that I've never read any Lovecraft.