Book recommendations. (William Burroughs/Issac Asimov/C. D. Payne)

Project Mayhem

Ok. I need a good book to read. I just read Junky By Burroughs last night, and it was fantastic.

The problem was that I read it all last night.

In one sitting.

I want a book to tie me over for a while. I've read a bit of Asimov: Robot Dreams, Robot Visions, and I Robot.
I started to read Naked Lunch, also by Burroughs, at the local B&N yesterday. It was pretty deep for me though, I'm not hip to the lingo he was using. It may get easier to read as it goes on though, I don't know.

So yeah, recommend me some gritty/druggy/robot-y books.

I also read a bit of Youth in Revolt, which I loved... So I'll probably start with that, but I still want other suggestions.

Reckless

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

The LandoStander

If you greatly enjoyed Asimov you could try the Foundation series.

I didn't much care for it but Bradbury's Martian Chronicles is also pretty standard for the 'classic' science fiction. You may have already been through it dependent on your high school English curriculum.

Dependent on your idea of gritty or druggy or just plain messed up there's also Ordinary People, which also exists as a movie about a family with a suicidal son, a mother in denial and a father who doesn't have much of a back bone. All of their problems seemingly stemming from something that happened years ago on the family vacation. Judd Hirsch and Donald Sutherland were in the movie as well as Mary Tyler Moore as I recall.

I'll second the suggestion for "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" you may have already seen Blade Runner which is based on it and is of course pretty awesome.

Also on the tech-y front there's a series by Tad Willams starting with a book called "Otherland" which deals with a future in which full immersion virtual reality has become possible. The only problem is that some kids are turning up in comas and people who use it too much sometimes forget that they're in VR.

MisterGrok

Snow Crash, Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom

Project Mayhem

Thanks guys. I'll definitely have to check out Snow Crash, someone mentioned it to me a while back. Also, I'd like to add House of Leaves to the list of books I've enjoyed if that gives anyone else any suggestions.

FightTest

If you really want gritty read Filth by Irvine Welsh (the guy who wrote Trainspotting). It's the only book I've ever read where I felt fucking gross and wrong after finishing it.

edit.. and Trainspotting and its sequel Porno were both great also, less offensive as well.

Captain Vash

Seconding(thirding) reccomendations for the Asimov series "Foundation", and "Snow Crash".