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Substance Abuse & Addiction
Fiction and nonfiction that tell of someone's addiction to/abuse of drugs or alcohol.
Score
A book’s total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book.
| 1 |
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Go Ask Alice
by
Beatrice Sparks (as "Anonymous")
3.74 avg rating — 289,661 ratings
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| 2 |
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Crank (Crank, #1)
by
Ellen Hopkins (Goodreads Author)
4.16 avg rating — 153,890 ratings
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| 3 |
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A Million Little Pieces
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3.69 avg rating — 261,673 ratings
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| 4 |
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Trainspotting
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4.11 avg rating — 175,802 ratings
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| 5 |
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Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream
by
4.06 avg rating — 372,763 ratings
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| 6 |
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Tweak: Growing Up On Methamphetamines
by
3.98 avg rating — 46,486 ratings
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| 7 |
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Lost in Yaba: Down and Out in Laos
by
Walt Gleeson (Goodreads Author)
3.86 avg rating — 1,638 ratings
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| 8 |
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Glass (Crank, #2)
by
Ellen Hopkins (Goodreads Author)
4.29 avg rating — 73,982 ratings
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| 9 |
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Junky
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3.85 avg rating — 70,318 ratings
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| 10 |
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Requiem for a Dream
by
4.11 avg rating — 63,491 ratings
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| 11 |
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Impulse (Impulse, #1)
by
Ellen Hopkins (Goodreads Author)
4.25 avg rating — 82,040 ratings
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| 12 |
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The Glass Castle
by
Jeannette Walls (Goodreads Author)
4.32 avg rating — 1,335,287 ratings
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| 13 |
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The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star
by
4.14 avg rating — 38,799 ratings
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| 14 |
|
Naked Lunch: The Restored Text
by
3.46 avg rating — 97,344 ratings
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| 15 |
|
White Knuckle
by
Steven Bruce (Goodreads Author)
4.52 avg rating — 462 ratings
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| 16 |
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Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction
by
David Sheff (Goodreads Author)
4.17 avg rating — 103,698 ratings
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| 17 |
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Dry
by
Augusten Burroughs (Goodreads Author)
4.03 avg rating — 97,833 ratings
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| 18 |
|
The Girl Behind the Painted Smile: My battle with the bottle
by
Catherine Lockwood (Goodreads Author)
3.76 avg rating — 1,304 ratings
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| 19 |
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Smashed: Story of a Drunken Girlhood
by
Koren Zailckas (Goodreads Author)
3.53 avg rating — 24,871 ratings
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| 20 |
|
Looking for Alaska
by
John Green (Goodreads Author)
3.96 avg rating — 1,724,531 ratings
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| 21 |
|
Less Than Zero
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3.60 avg rating — 96,066 ratings
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| 22 |
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Scar Tissue
by
4.11 avg rating — 99,896 ratings
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| 23 |
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Drinking: A Love Story
by
4.09 avg rating — 21,213 ratings
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| 24 |
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Valley of the Dolls
by
3.86 avg rating — 75,950 ratings
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| 25 |
|
Burned (Burned, #1)
by
Ellen Hopkins (Goodreads Author)
4.25 avg rating — 70,440 ratings
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| 26 |
|
Candy
by
4.14 avg rating — 7,846 ratings
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| 27 |
|
The Forever Fight: On Drugs, Alcohol and the Cycle of Addiction
by
K.J. Gordon (Goodreads Author)
4.80 avg rating — 120 ratings
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| 28 |
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Girl, Interrupted
by
3.94 avg rating — 271,521 ratings
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| 29 |
|
Identical
by
Ellen Hopkins (Goodreads Author)
4.29 avg rating — 66,509 ratings
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| 30 |
|
The Hollow Dolls
by
3.26 avg rating — 111 ratings
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| 31 |
|
Smack
by
3.91 avg rating — 22,003 ratings
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| 32 |
|
Cut
by
3.76 avg rating — 59,964 ratings
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| 33 |
|
Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo
by
4.36 avg rating — 75,579 ratings
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| 34 |
|
Prozac Nation
by
3.64 avg rating — 63,573 ratings
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| 35 |
|
Wishful Drinking
by
3.82 avg rating — 91,841 ratings
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| 36 |
|
Perfect (Impulse, #2)
by
Ellen Hopkins (Goodreads Author)
4.32 avg rating — 30,890 ratings
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| 37 |
|
Infinite Jest
by
4.25 avg rating — 99,418 ratings
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| 38 |
|
Long Day’s Journey into Night
by
4.06 avg rating — 42,527 ratings
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| 39 |
|
A Piece of Cake
by
4.25 avg rating — 38,019 ratings
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| 40 |
|
The Million Rand Teaspoon: A true story of Addiction and Redemption
by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 76 ratings
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| 41 |
|
Post Office
by
3.93 avg rating — 136,683 ratings
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| 42 |
|
Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt, #1)
by
4.15 avg rating — 652,986 ratings
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| 43 |
|
Mid Ocean
by
T. Rafael Cimino (Goodreads Author)
3.87 avg rating — 902 ratings
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| 44 |
|
Get Clean
by
Jams N. Roses (Goodreads Author)
4.01 avg rating — 130 ratings
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| 45 |
|
Musical Chairs
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4.17 avg rating — 414 ratings
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| 46 |
|
Stick Me Baby...One More Time (Has-Been #2)
by
Kat DeSalle (Goodreads Author)
4.32 avg rating — 69 ratings
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| 47 |
|
Tender Is the Night
by
3.77 avg rating — 147,564 ratings
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| 48 |
|
Cottonmouth Kisses
by
4.15 avg rating — 153 ratings
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| 49 |
|
Under the Volcano
by
3.76 avg rating — 26,498 ratings
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| 50 |
|
Permanent Midnight
by
3.96 avg rating — 2,212 ratings
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| 51 |
|
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
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4.06 avg rating — 63,804 ratings
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| 52 |
|
Glamorama
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3.55 avg rating — 25,227 ratings
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| 53 |
|
Blood, Blood Everywhere (Nicu: The Littlest Vampire, #3)
by
Elias Zapple (Goodreads Author)
it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 14 ratings
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| 54 |
|
Lit
by
3.94 avg rating — 28,071 ratings
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| 55 |
|
Slash
by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 30,212 ratings
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| 56 |
|
Dreamland
by
Sarah Dessen (Goodreads Author)
3.90 avg rating — 83,788 ratings
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| 57 |
|
Pills, Thrills, Chills, and Heartache: Adventures in the First Person
by
Clint Catalyst (Editor)
3.74 avg rating — 208 ratings
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| 58 |
|
A Scanner Darkly
by
4.03 avg rating — 108,749 ratings
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| 59 |
|
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test
by
3.92 avg rating — 78,423 ratings
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| 60 |
|
Leaving Dirty Jersey: A Crystal Meth Memoir
by
3.72 avg rating — 1,974 ratings
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| 61 |
|
Leaving Las Vegas
by
4.03 avg rating — 5,708 ratings
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| 62 |
|
The Rules of Attraction
by
3.72 avg rating — 50,882 ratings
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| 63 |
|
God's Unwanted Child
by
Reece LeResche (Goodreads Author)
4.15 avg rating — 34 ratings
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| 64 |
|
Misery
by
Stephen King (Goodreads Author)
4.23 avg rating — 823,089 ratings
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| 65 |
|
Postcards from the Edge
by
3.62 avg rating — 18,490 ratings
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| 66 |
|
Ecstasy
by
3.61 avg rating — 11,394 ratings
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| 67 |
|
Liquid Comfort - A Surf Story
by
Cheryl Lee Petro (Goodreads Author)
4.01 avg rating — 84 ratings
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| 67 |
|
Measure Twice
by
J.J. Hensley (Goodreads Author)
3.91 avg rating — 757 ratings
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| 69 |
|
The Girl on the Train
by
Paula Hawkins (Goodreads Author)
3.96 avg rating — 3,225,800 ratings
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| 70 |
|
My Friend Leonard
by
3.88 avg rating — 46,337 ratings
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| 71 |
|
Choke
by
Chuck Palahniuk (Goodreads Author)
3.71 avg rating — 219,253 ratings
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| 72 |
|
Clapton: The Autobiography
by
3.83 avg rating — 29,037 ratings
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| 73 |
|
The Night of the Gun
by
3.82 avg rating — 7,425 ratings
score: 886,
and
9 people voted
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| 73 |
|
The Long Weekend
by
4.60 avg rating — 42 ratings
score: 886,
and
9 people voted
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| 75 |
|
Confessions of an English Opium Eater
by
3.28 avg rating — 10,903 ratings
score: 860,
and
9 people voted
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| 75 |
|
Comeback: A Mother and Daughter's Journey Through Hell and Back
by
3.93 avg rating — 10,749 ratings
score: 860,
and
9 people voted
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| 77 |
|
Candy
by
3.86 avg rating — 10,714 ratings
score: 858,
and
9 people voted
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| 78 |
|
The Drug Users Bible
by
Dominic Milton Trott (Goodreads Author)
4.42 avg rating — 108 ratings
score: 799,
and
8 people voted
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| 79 |
|
Teenage Degenerate
by
S.C. Sterling (Goodreads Author)
3.90 avg rating — 595 ratings
score: 797,
and
8 people voted
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| 80 |
|
Lullabies for Little Criminals
by
Heather O'Neill (Goodreads Author)
4.04 avg rating — 29,306 ratings
score: 775,
and
8 people voted
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| 81 |
|
The Basketball Diaries
by
3.99 avg rating — 31,545 ratings
score: 765,
and
8 people voted
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| 82 |
|
Beauty Queen
by
3.80 avg rating — 1,514 ratings
score: 758,
and
8 people voted
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| 83 |
|
All Good Things Die in L.A.
by
Anhoni Patel (Goodreads Author)
3.33 avg rating — 54 ratings
score: 700,
and
7 people voted
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| 83 |
|
The Birthday Present
by
Lizzy Grey (Goodreads Author)
3.03 avg rating — 61 ratings
score: 700,
and
7 people voted
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| 83 |
|
Malibu Motel
by
Chaunceton Bird (Goodreads Author)
4.18 avg rating — 67 ratings
score: 700,
and
7 people voted
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| 83 |
|
Girl on Trial
by
Kathleen Fine (Goodreads Author)
3.92 avg rating — 930 ratings
score: 700,
and
7 people voted
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| 87 |
|
The Call of the Void
by
Reece LeResche (Goodreads Author)
4.35 avg rating — 34 ratings
score: 699,
and
7 people voted
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| 88 |
|
Everything I Never Wanted to Be: A Memoir of Alcoholism and Addiction, Faith and Family, Hope and Humor
by
Dina Kucera (Goodreads Author)
3.75 avg rating — 2,274 ratings
score: 693,
and
7 people voted
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| 89 |
|
Down The Tubes
by
Kate Rigby (Goodreads Author)
4.27 avg rating — 49 ratings
score: 688,
and
7 people voted
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| 90 |
|
A Moveable Feast
by
4.02 avg rating — 164,081 ratings
score: 669,
and
7 people voted
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| 91 |
|
In My Skin
by
3.84 avg rating — 5,762 ratings
score: 665,
and
7 people voted
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| 92 |
|
Portrait of an Addict as a Young Man: A Memoir
by
Bill Clegg (Goodreads Author)
3.78 avg rating — 4,860 ratings
score: 660,
and
7 people voted
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| 93 |
|
Blackout Girl: Growing Up and Drying Out in America
by
Jennifer Storm (Goodreads Author)
3.81 avg rating — 1,605 ratings
score: 628,
and
7 people voted
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| 94 |
|
High on Arrival
by
3.84 avg rating — 9,328 ratings
score: 623,
and
7 people voted
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| 95 |
|
Vein Fire
by
Lucia Adams (Goodreads Author)
3.94 avg rating — 175 ratings
score: 600,
and
6 people voted
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| 96 |
|
Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs
by
4.50 avg rating — 21,272 ratings
score: 598,
and
6 people voted
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| 97 |
|
Unholy Magic (Downside Ghosts, #2)
by
Stacia Kane (Goodreads Author)
4.07 avg rating — 10,503 ratings
score: 581,
and
6 people voted
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| 98 |
|
The Contortionist's Handbook
by
Craig Clevenger (Goodreads Author)
3.97 avg rating — 11,379 ratings
score: 576,
and
6 people voted
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| 99 |
|
Last Exit to Brooklyn
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3.92 avg rating — 28,920 ratings
score: 570,
and
6 people voted
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| 100 |
|
Cruddy
by
4.16 avg rating — 6,558 ratings
score: 569,
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6 people voted
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711 books ·
1,311 voters ·
list created August 7th, 2008
by Jessica Haider (votes) .
Comments Showing 1-7 of 7 (7 new)
date
newest »
newest »
You'll Never Eat Lunch In This Town Again, by Julia Phillips. The Eden Express by Mark Vonnegut. P
how about "Dope" by Sara Gran, and "The Last Opium Den" by Nick Tosches?
You could add them; it's easy to add books to lists. At the top of the list, at the tab next to "all votes."
This list is so important and incredible. Disability Consciousness with a scope on addiction as a mental/phsycial disability is an incredible and misunderstood (fractured) lens to read through. Fitzgerald is an easy author to sensationalize for addiction, however much of it is circuited by the jazz age culture - I'd argue the American Dream is an allegory for an addictive mindset one that traps pursuers into something that devours them completely.
Added Morphine, an autobiographic story by Bulgakov. It's not sensationally written, but a kind of scary precision which horrifies even more.
These two are on the list but not (in my opinion) as highly ranked as they should be-Drinking: A Love Story (Caroline Knapp) and The Night of the Gun (David Carr-wow, do I miss him and his writings).
Anyone can add books to this list.
How to Vote
To vote on existing books from the list, beside each book there is a link vote for this book clicking it will add that book to your votes.
To vote on books not in the list or books you couldn't find in the list, you can click on the tab add books to this list and then choose from your books, or simply search.
Dave Carr's memoir, The Gun in the Night, both excellent. Also the MOYERS book, forget the title...