<p>art_star -</p>
<p>I read Crime and Punishment, and loved it! It is very psychological, and I enjoyed that. I find some books really hard to get through, but I found C&P pretty easy to read. It's also not as long as some of the other Russian classics.</p>
<p>ETA: If you're interested in Dostoevsky, I'd also really recommend Notes From Underground. It's not a quick and light read, but it's worth it.</p>
<p>Speaking of Russian classics -Anna Karenina takes a LONG time to read, but it's pretty good.</p>
<p>A Short History of Nearly Everything- Bill Bryson
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Catch-22</p>
<p>This is basically my summer reading list and some books I've read recently. I was careful to pick out books from recommendations and my actual interest, not just because it was on "101 Books You MUST Read for College!" And I've only got about 10 books. Some of my friends think that reading 50 books this summer will magically make them geniuses...</p>
<ol>
<li><p>The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand- It's tacky and tasteless to say this, but this book changed my life. </p></li>
<li><p>Anything by David Sedaris- His books are hilarious. I can't read them on the subway anymore because I always laugh out loud and then people give me weird looks.</p></li>
<li><p>If you didn't like Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut, try Cat's Cradle or God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater. I liked both of them more.</p></li>
<li><p>Postmodern/experimental: A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers. Definitely worth reading, although slightly too much hipster irony for my taste. I'm reading House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski this summer, which is also very postmodern, but my friend told me it was actually brilliant as opposed to just ironic. </p></li>
<li><p>Frequently underrespresented classics: Lolita, The Stranger by Albert Camus, and Doctor Zhivago</p></li>
<li><p>Books about mental insanity: The Eden Express by Mark Vonnegut (Kurt's son), Girl Interrupted (also an excellent movie), and The Bell Jar.</p></li>
<li><p>Newer novels: The Little Girl and the Cigarette by Denoit Duteurtre (highly recommended if you don't mind French that is badly translated into English) and Dreams of My Russian Summers by Andrei Makine.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>PS- No matter how excited you get about a book, don't be a book snob! There's nothing more annoying. For all my friends know, I don't even know how to read.</p>