Author David Shields' list of books (I think this also includes movies and music)
Henry Adams, The Education of Henry Adams Renata Adler, Speedboat James Agee, Let Us Now Praise Famous Men Hilton Als, The Women W.H. Auden, A Certain World Augustine, Confessions Nicholson Baker, U and I, A Box of Matches James Baldwin, Notes of a Native Son Julian Barnes, Flaubert’s Parrot, Nothing to be Frightened Of Roland Barthes, S/Z Jo Ann Beard, The Boys of My Youth Samuel Beckett, Proust Alan Bennett, Writing Home Sandra Bernhard, Without You I’m Nothing Thomas Bernhard, Wittgenstein’s Nephew John Berryman, The Dream Songs Grégoire Bouillier, The Mystery Guest, Report on Myself Jorge Luis Borges, Other Inquisitions Joe Brainard, I Remember Richard Brautigan, Trout Fishing in America Sophie Calle, Exquisite Pain Albert Camus, The Fall Anne Carson, Plainwater Terry Castle, “My Heroin Christmas” John Cheever, Journals Robert Clark, The Angel of Doubt Frank Conroy, Stop-Time E.M. Cioran, The Temptation to Exist J.M. Coetzee, Elizabeth Costello Billy Collins, The Art of Drowning Bernard Cooper, Maps to Anywhere Cyril Connolly, The Unquiet Grave Douglas Coupland, Generation X John D’Agata, Halls of Fame Charles Darwin, Origin of the Species Alphonse Daudet, In the Land of Pain Larry David, Curb Your Enthusiasm Thomas DeQuincey, Confessions of an Opium-Eater Joan Didion, “Sentimental Journeys” Annie Dillard, For the Time Being Marguerite Duras, The Lover Geoff Dyer, Out of Sheer Rage Frederick Exley, A Fan’s Notes Brian Fawcett, Cambodia F.Scott Fitzgerald, The Crack-Up E.M. Forster, Commonplace Book Joe Frank, In the Dark Amy Fusselman, The Pharmacist’s Mate, 8 Eduardo Galeano, The Book of Embraces Vivian Gornick, Fierce Attachments, The End of the Novel of Love Simon Gray, The Smoking Diaries Spalding Gray, Morning, Noon, and Night Barry Hannah, Boomerang Elizabeth Hardwick, Sleepless Nights Kathryn Harrison, The Kiss John Haskell, I Am Not Jackson Pollock Nathaniel Hawthorne, “Custom-House” William James, Varieties of Religious Experience Frank Kafka, Letter to My Father David Kirby, The House on Boulevard Street Wayne Koestenbaum, The Queen’s Throat Charles Lamb, The Essays of Elia Philip Larkin, The Whitsun Weddings D.H. Lawrence, Studies in Classical American Literature Denis Leary, No Cure for Cancer Michel Leiris, Manhood Michael Lesy, Wisconsin Death Trip Jonathan Lethem, The Disappointment Artist Sven Lindqvist, A History of Bombing Ross McElwee, Sherman’s March Rosemary Mahoney, Down the Nile Rian Malan, My Traitor’s Heart Sarah Manguso, The Two Kinds of Decay David Markson, This Is Not a Novel, Reader’s Block, Vanishing Point, The Last Novel Carole Maso, The Art Lover Herman Melville, Moby-Dick Daniel Mendelsohn, The Elusive Embrace Leonard Michaels, Shuffle Michel de Montaigne, The Essays of Montaigne Danger Mouse, The Grey Album Vladimir Nabokov, Gogol V.S. Naipaul, A Way in the World Maggie Nelson, Bluets Friederich Nietzsche, Ecce Homo George Orwell, “Such, Such Were the Joys” Blaise Pascal, Pensées Don Patterson, Best Thought, Worst Thought Fernando Pessoa, The Book of Disquiet Marcel Proust, In Search of Lost Time Jonathan Raban, For Love & Money James Richardson, Vectors Alain Robbe-Grillet, Ghosts in the Mirror François Le Rochefoucauld, Maxims Rick Reynolds, Only the Truth Is Funny Chris Rock, Bring the Pain Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Confessions W.G. Sebald, The Emigrants Wallace Shawn, My Dinner with André Sarah Silverman, Jesus Is Magic Lauren Slater, Lying Gilbert Sorrentino, “The Moon in its Flight” Art Spiegelman, Maus Jean Stafford, A Mother in History Stendahl, On Love Laurence Sterne, Tristram Shandy Jean Stein, Edie Melanie Thernstrom, The Dead Girl Jean Toomer, Cane Thucydides, The History of the Peloponnesian War George W.S. Trow, My Pilgrim’s Progress, Within the Context of No Context Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse-Five (prologue) D.J. Waldie, Holy Land Joe Wenderoth, Letters to Wendy’s Geoffrey Wolff, The Duke of Deception
Henry Adams, The Education of Henry Adams
Renata Adler, Speedboat
James Agee, Let Us Now Praise Famous Men
Hilton Als, The Women
W.H. Auden, A Certain World
Augustine, Confessions
Nicholson Baker, U and I, A Box of Matches
James Baldwin, Notes of a Native Son
Julian Barnes, Flaubert’s Parrot, Nothing to be Frightened Of
Roland Barthes, S/Z
Jo Ann Beard, The Boys of My Youth
Samuel Beckett, Proust
Alan Bennett, Writing Home
Sandra Bernhard, Without You I’m Nothing
Thomas Bernhard, Wittgenstein’s Nephew
John Berryman, The Dream Songs
Grégoire Bouillier, The Mystery Guest, Report on Myself
Jorge Luis Borges, Other Inquisitions
Joe Brainard, I Remember
Richard Brautigan, Trout Fishing in America
Sophie Calle, Exquisite Pain
Albert Camus, The Fall
Anne Carson, Plainwater
Terry Castle, “My Heroin Christmas”
John Cheever, Journals
Robert Clark, The Angel of Doubt
Frank Conroy, Stop-Time
E.M. Cioran, The Temptation to Exist
J.M. Coetzee, Elizabeth Costello
Billy Collins, The Art of Drowning
Bernard Cooper, Maps to Anywhere
Cyril Connolly, The Unquiet Grave
Douglas Coupland, Generation X
John D’Agata, Halls of Fame
Charles Darwin, Origin of the Species
Alphonse Daudet, In the Land of Pain
Larry David, Curb Your Enthusiasm
Thomas DeQuincey, Confessions of an Opium-Eater
Joan Didion, “Sentimental Journeys”
Annie Dillard, For the Time Being
Marguerite Duras, The Lover
Geoff Dyer, Out of Sheer Rage
Frederick Exley, A Fan’s Notes
Brian Fawcett, Cambodia
F.Scott Fitzgerald, The Crack-Up
E.M. Forster, Commonplace Book
Joe Frank, In the Dark
Amy Fusselman, The Pharmacist’s Mate, 8
Eduardo Galeano, The Book of Embraces
Vivian Gornick, Fierce Attachments, The End of the Novel of Love
Simon Gray, The Smoking Diaries
Spalding Gray, Morning, Noon, and Night
Barry Hannah, Boomerang
Elizabeth Hardwick, Sleepless Nights
Kathryn Harrison, The Kiss
John Haskell, I Am Not Jackson Pollock
Nathaniel Hawthorne, “Custom-House”
William James, Varieties of Religious Experience
Frank Kafka, Letter to My Father
David Kirby, The House on Boulevard Street
Wayne Koestenbaum, The Queen’s Throat
Charles Lamb, The Essays of Elia
Philip Larkin, The Whitsun Weddings
D.H. Lawrence, Studies in Classical American Literature
Denis Leary, No Cure for Cancer
Michel Leiris, Manhood
Michael Lesy, Wisconsin Death Trip
Jonathan Lethem, The Disappointment Artist
Sven Lindqvist, A History of Bombing
Ross McElwee, Sherman’s March
Rosemary Mahoney, Down the Nile
Rian Malan, My Traitor’s Heart
Sarah Manguso, The Two Kinds of Decay
David Markson, This Is Not a Novel, Reader’s Block, Vanishing Point, The Last Novel
Carole Maso, The Art Lover
Herman Melville, Moby-Dick
Daniel Mendelsohn, The Elusive Embrace
Leonard Michaels, Shuffle
Michel de Montaigne, The Essays of Montaigne
Danger Mouse, The Grey Album
Vladimir Nabokov, Gogol
V.S. Naipaul, A Way in the World
Maggie Nelson, Bluets
Friederich Nietzsche, Ecce Homo
George Orwell, “Such, Such Were the Joys”
Blaise Pascal, Pensées
Don Patterson, Best Thought, Worst Thought
Fernando Pessoa, The Book of Disquiet
Marcel Proust, In Search of Lost Time
Jonathan Raban, For Love & Money
James Richardson, Vectors
Alain Robbe-Grillet, Ghosts in the Mirror
François Le Rochefoucauld, Maxims
Rick Reynolds, Only the Truth Is Funny
Chris Rock, Bring the Pain
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Confessions
W.G. Sebald, The Emigrants
Wallace Shawn, My Dinner with André
Sarah Silverman, Jesus Is Magic
Lauren Slater, Lying
Gilbert Sorrentino, “The Moon in its Flight”
Art Spiegelman, Maus
Jean Stafford, A Mother in History
Stendahl, On Love
Laurence Sterne, Tristram Shandy
Jean Stein, Edie
Melanie Thernstrom, The Dead Girl
Jean Toomer, Cane
Thucydides, The History of the Peloponnesian War
George W.S. Trow, My Pilgrim’s Progress, Within the Context of No Context
Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse-Five (prologue)
D.J. Waldie, Holy Land
Joe Wenderoth, Letters to Wendy’s
Geoffrey Wolff, The Duke of Deception