Chuck Palahniuk’s always looking for action, especially when he’s reading. “Something should always be happening, constantly moving forward,” says the author of “Fight Club,” adding, “I’m also looking for seemingly ordinary things represented in a new, fresh way.”
That pretty much sums up his latest, “Tell-All.” Out this week, it’s been described as “the hyperactive love child of Page Six and ‘What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?,’ ” replete with cameo appearances by Lillian Hellman and Hitler. As for those stories of people fainting at his readings, Palahniuk tells The Post’s Barbara Hoffman that they are no urban legendd: “The first time I read a story from my book, ‘Haunted,’ at least one or two people fainted. In Brighton, England, we had something like 18 or 19 people faint — and the publisher sent an ambulance company. In a way, it’s a kind of point of pride, that a spoken story can have that kind of effect still.” Here’s what’s in his library.
The Day of the Locust
by Nathanael West
Don your raccoon coat and jump into the rumble seat of your Stutz-Bearcat for this zany, madcap escapade of nonstop bathtub gin, all-you-can-eat goldfish swallowing and red-hot Jazz Babies with rouged knees. It’s “The Great Gatsby” without the happy ending. I give this tome a solid “10.”
Slaughterhouse-Five
by Kurt Vonnegut
I once wrote a heartfelt mash letter to K. Vonnegut, and he never wrote me back; nevertheless, I love this crazy book! We first read it in high school, but once a Mormon parent saw the bawdy limerick about the scrotum, our school burned all the copies. Few things in life seem more sexy than a banned book.
The Collected Stories
by Amy Hempel
It’s a given that someday a major world religion will arise from this book. It will become a religious text for our descendants, and millions will burn candles around statues of Ms. Hempel. She is a wonder. Honestly, each time you read this book it shortens your time in Purgatory and speeds your eventual salvation.
The Pugilist at Rest
by Thom Jones
Mr. Jones is a gold-plated genius and he obviously does not need my panting cheerleader accolades. That said: Three cheers for the stories in this boffo collection! Jones is a writer’s writer, and his work makes you glad you have eyes. However, if you download pirated Kindle versions, God slaughters an equal number of cuddly, innocent kittens.