American Lit!

I posted a while ago about my favourite Canadian reads, but I have an affinity for 20th century American literature and poetry.  Here are my top picks (off the top of my head):

1. Beloved by Toni Morrison - I'm not one for ghost stories, and Beloved certainly isn't one, but it is creepy in its own way, and leaves you unsettled while keeping you drawn in (much like the eponymous character). 
2. Any Allen Ginsberg.
3. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck - I love this book, mainly because of the trainwreck that is the Joad family.  It somewhat reminds me of As I Lay Dying (which I also recommend), except that I am in love with Steinbeck's prose.
4. Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote - Like Daisy Miller, this is a great novella about the clashing of cultures; albeit, a little more raw and beautiful in its own way from the film.
5. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain - How could I not put this on the list?  I was completely mesmerized by these books, although I found the first to be more interesting than the second. 
6. Foxfire by Joyce Carol Oates - Foxfire exceeded my expectations, although I don't quite know what I was expecting.  I suppose I was expecting some kind of sappy Lifetime-esque novel about sisterhood but instead it turned into a novel about a megalomaniacal seventeen year-old girl.  Ten  out of ten, would read again.
7. The Rules of Attraction by Brett Easton Ellis - I feel like Brett Easton Ellis novels might be my guilty pleasure, except that I think you're supposed to be ashamed of your guilty pleasures.  Suffice to say, I guess I liked this book because I didn't have to do much thinking while I read it.
8. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner - I tried reading The Sound and the Fury and gave up after the first chapter.  After that, I swore off Faulkner, until I read A Rose for Emily, and then I swore him off once more.  But As I Lay Dying drew me in because of the similarities between it and The Grapes of Wrath (the poverty, the journey, etc.).  Eventually I warmed up to it, despite restarting it about five times.  And now it's on this list.

Thanks for reading!