Best American Erotica - annual series edited by Susie Bright

Pomosexuals - Carol Queen et al

Drama of the Gifted Child - Alice Miller

Anything by Jonathan Lethem (e.g., Motherless Brooklyn; The Fortress of Solitude; Gun, with Occasional Music; You Don't Love Me Yet)

Anything by David Sedaris (e.g., Barrel Fever; Me Talk Pretty One Day; Naked)

Dry - Augusten Burroughs

Fast Food Nation - Eric Schlosser

Bi America: Myths, Truths and Struggles of an Invisible Community - William Burleson

And, historically, the Lord of the Rings series and the Chronicles of Narnia, as well as the Grounding of Group Six (Julian F. Thompson) profoundly affected me as a child/adolescent.

That's all I can think of today....but there will be more...

-gg

David Sedaris - interesting choice. I have read Barrel Fever, but as yet haven't tracked any other work down. The humour is very...... American, but I enjoyed it all the same.
Have heard of Jonathan Lethem but not read any of his work.

:D

Interesting choices there GG. :)

Hmmm.... That almost sounds like an insult! What's wrong with American humor?? I think David Sedaris is hilarious, although most certainly a monumental liar (or exaggerator, however you want to put it). Augusten Burroughs has a similar tone, darker and not as "on" all the time, but the sad part about his work is that I don't think he was making up anything he went through as a child.

-gg

P.S. I am utterly the last person to defend the U.S., in almost every respect, but I do think we've got some good writers.

Also, I just finished these:

The Bisexual's Guide to the Universe by Nicole Symanzki and MIke somebody

and

Rise and Shine by Anna Quindlen

I was completely unimpressed by both books, and don't recommend either one.

-gg

No not an insult at all honestly, but there are some pretty noticeable differences between humour (even spelling of it ;) ) between America and the UK, and when I read David Sedaris it just seemed more apparent to me than some other authors I've read from across the pond. I don't disagree there are some very good American authors, some of whom are on my bookcase.

Its very similar to some of the lesbian books I've read that have come out of America compared to the UK. Not as much over the last couple of years, but honestly, a lot of the lesbian writing I've seen from America I just cannot get my head around and read at all. Try to explain that, and its near enough impossible other than - you just sense its a completely different mindset and culture showing through.