Highlight: Chuck Palahniuk (Updated)

One of the few writers that I follow and inhale everything that he writes is a man named, Chuck Palahniuk.

His writing isn't for everyone. I can't say you will enjoy his work. The man is deeply damaged (lots of murdered family members) and writes deeply damaged characters in some pretty messed up situations. I am permanently damaged by some specific scenes from various books. Despite that, I will always read what he writes. And I don't mean that any of the above is a bad thing.

I discovered him after I fell in love with the "Fight Club" movie. He had written the book (his first one). I then made it a mission to keep up with all of his books going forward. He puts out one a year so it is pretty reasonable to keep up.This mission of mine has faltered the last few years, but I am proud to say that I am back to being caught up once again. Yay!

I thought I would rank my favorites of Chuck's books for you:

1. Survivor (1999)
2. Lullaby (2002)
3. Rant (2007)
4. Invisible Monsters (1999)
5. Diary (2003)
6. Fugitives and Refugees: A Walk in Portland, Oregon (2003) [Non-Fiction]
7. Tell-All (2010)
8. Haunted (2005)
9. Fight Club (1996)
10. Stranger Than Fiction: True Stories (2004)[Non-Fiction]
11. Damned (2011) 
12. Doomed (2013) [Sequel to Damned]
13. Snuff (2008)
14. Choke (2001)
15. Pygmy (2009)

Fight Club and Choke were made into movies. I actually liked the movie Choke better than the book. Survivor and Haunted damaged me the most.

If you were to start reading Chuck's work, I would start with Lullaby. I think that is his most accessible to a new reader. Chuck wrote it while deciding if he wanted them to push for the death penalty on the man that murdered his dad. The book is about a man who stumbles upon a culling song and accidentally kills his wife and child with it. He then goes on a quest to destroy copies of it when he meets a woman who is on the opposite quest. And when I say this is the most normal and accessible of his stories, I am not kidding.

When asked who are my favorite authors, Chuck Palahniuk and Jane Austen are always the first two that come to mind, although the list is actually quite long. The fact that I love them both equally and they couldn't be more different just shows how I am a...what's the polite word that people use to describe me...umm...unique individual.