Know Any Good Books by..?

Alright, so, before the Moderators lock this because the title infers some sort of online scam, check this out. Every year for State Testing, our school offers a free Ipod for the winner of a subject competition, meaning, the highest scorer in Math, Science, and the other subjects win a free Ipod. I've won the history competition two years running, so, in theory, I'm supposed to win two Ipods, right? Wrong; the district is blocking the funding. A compromise was then negotiated by yours truly; instead of complaining to the school about receiving my two Ipods (priced at $500 retail value, in total) I asked if I could receive that $500 in literature of my direct choosing. They agreed. I need your help.

Know Any Good Books by anyone in general? I don't know $500 dollars of good literature because I've already purchased most of the classics. I've read most of the cornerstone pieces of literature. However, because I know there are readers with different tastes on this forum, I know you'll recommend great pieces of literature that I've never heard of. All I need are two things: A) Name of piece and author, and B) why you think it's decent. Thank you to everyone that helps, it really means a bunch!

Thanks,
IceM

The dharma bums by kerouac because i just love kerouac anything by him will be a good choice, Ishmael by daniel Quinn because its an enlightening book whose topic people need to be more aware of.

—The Recognitions by William Gaddis. It is perhaps the most underrated and one of the least-read masterpieces of modern literature. Set in the arts scene of 1950s New York, it is full of writers, poets, composers, dramatists, architects, agents and critics. A constant babble of voices and dialogue where nearly every voice is false and perverse. The main character, a forger of Dutch Renaissance paintings, is one of the few who has no artistic pretensions—and also one of the few with any real talent. It is labyrinthine, maddening, and please note: I guarantee you will curse my pseudonym the first time you try to get through it.

—The Orchard Keeper by Cormac McCarthy. His first novel. Set in the Appalachian mountains. A young boy is taken under the wing of a bootlegger, the man who killed his father—unbeknownst to both of them. Brooding, brutal, funny, it avoids every plot move you might expect. The boy learns some enduring lessons.

—Ghostwritten by David Mitchell. The unifying thread is the journey of a non-corporeal entity, which successively inhabits a series of characters in different times and places, migrating around the globe. But this entity is not really a driving force behind the plot, nor is it a distraction. The fascinating thing is that each inhabited character is involved in a great story of his or her own and one finds out that all of the stories are unified by other factors one doesn't grasp until the very end. There is nothing else quite like it.

Okay, that's my contribution. Remember, $500.00 doesn't go as far as you'd think. Consider going for used copies, especially for the ones you're not sure about (like all of the above?).

To name a couple. The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks. He is a phenomenal writer and there is actually about 20 books in the series. The Sword of Shannara begins it but its not a series you have to follow if you don't want to.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (yes that is the correct spelling) This book is amazing, as well as the two that follow it.

The Shack by William Paul Young. If you want to read a book that will move you, this is it.

Love Letters of Great Men volumes 1 and 2. There is no specific author but these are some of the great letters I've ever read. They are by Shakespeare, Beethoven, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Lord Byron, Poe, George Bernard Shaw, etc...

Will keep it brief as i'm wary of giving too much away, that you will have already read some of these anyway, and because i'm off to work in a mo.
Here you go:

The Green Child by Herbert Read - 3 very different stories lumped together in the same novel, all very dreamlike. Unique piece of writing.

Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban - Unputdownable. Post-apocalyptic Kent in a strange accent/dialect with indoctrinating puppet shows.

The Butcher Boy by Patrick McCabe - Very dark, very very funny story of an Irish lad and his many and varied adventures/troubles. You will recommend this to everyone you meet.

The Crystal World by JG Ballard - He'll take you into his jungly/foresty/glassy world and leave you there. Location and atmosphere mean you will never forget it.

Best Ghost Stories of Algernon Blackwood - There are many different publications carrying his shorts, but make sure you get one that contains The Willows. One of the best supernatural horror writers ever and you will definitely re-read some of these. Intense.