Books to Bury Me With: Wilson Koewing

The book I’d want to take with me to the grave:

Assuming I’ll be stuck in eternity, and I’ll have only this book with me forever I would choose my book QUASI because it’s my attempt to recreate my childhood and my life up to this point in a way that transcends photos or memories or social media posts. I’d like to keep that with me for eternity.

The first book that hit me like a ton of bricks:

THE MOUSE AND THE MOTORCYCLE by Beverly Cleary.

The book that’s seen more of my tears, coffee stains, and cigarette burns:

Tears: A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT by Norman Maclean.

Coffee Stains: I don’t like to read literature early in the day. And I rarely drink coffee after noon, unless I’m in Europe. So, THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING by Milan Kundera.

Cigarette Burns: Back when I smoked, I was never one to smoke while reading. I was far more likely to smoke while writing and drinking heavily.

The book that shook my world like a goddamn hurricane:

STONER by John Williams.

The book I wish I’d discovered when my liver was still intact:

SIDEWAYS by Rex Pickett.

The book I’d shove into everyone’s hands if I were king of the world:

My first collection, JADED, of course, because while I have no idea how much I will write before my death, I doubt I will write anything better, and I believe the book to be an undiscovered classic in wait.

The book that nearly drove me to madness:

CIALIS, VERDI, GIN, JAG by Adam Johnson. Everyone in the indie lie world should read Adam’s book because it is nuts. A face-melter that can be as frustrating as it is awe inspiring. Adam is like pure energy on the page. His work is very raw, but it exudes absurd ambition. At times, when I was reading the book, I felt like I was in a Jaguar going 150 mph with no idea what was going to happen to me.

The book I can’t keep my hands off of, no matter how many times I’ve read it:

WOMEN by Charles Bukowski. I just love the book. It’s not even Bukowski’s best, but it is my favorite. It has basically no plot, but it is so addictive.

The book I’d hide in the back of my closet, pretending I’m too highbrow for it:

CHEF by James Patterson.

The book that left a scar I wish I could forget:

This is a tough one because I don’t know if I should answer with a book that was painful to read, but that I loved or with a book that I hated. I guess I’ll go with the former and say A FAREWELL TO ARMS by Ernest Hemingway because of the ending.

The author who made me think, "Now that’s a soul in torment":

John O’Brien for sure. I’ve never read a book that reads and feels like it was as painful to write as LEAVING LAS VEGAS.

The book I’d get a tattoo of if I had the nerve:

Probably something from AMERICAN PSYCHO by Bret Easton Ellis, but it would be through the prism of the Mary Harron film, one of the hilarious, morbid lines or moments. Something from the business card scene. Or I have to return some videotapes. Or This place is a real beehive of activity Halberstram, this place is hot. Or Is that Ivana Trump? Or Do you like Phil Collins? There are more important things than Sri Lanka to worry about.

The book that made me question everything I thought I knew:

A FEAST OF SNAKES by Harry Crews. This book shocked me more than anything else I’ve ever read. A lot of books go to grotesque and horrible places for the sake of shock value, but I can’t think of any that plunge so boldly into madness while maintaining such brilliant literary flair.

The book that’s so damn good I’d never loan it out:

LEGENDS OF THE FALL by Jim Harrison. Probably the closest thing I can point to when I think about what I aspire to produce.

The book that’s been my companion through the darkest nights:

CATCH 22 by Joseph Heller. The funniest book I’ve ever read.

The book I’d throw in someone’s face during a heated argument:

THE AGE OF SPIRITUAL MACHINES by Ray Kurzweil.

The book that reminds me of a lost love or regret:

My first collection JADED again. Many of the stories in the book focus on a character that is loosely based on a woman I was involved with for many years and whose departure from my life had a profound impact.

The book I wish I could have written, butknow I never could:

CLOUD ATLAS by David Mitchell.

The book that makes me want to drink myself into oblivion:

THE DIRTY HAVANA TRILOGY by Pedro Juan Gutierrez.

The book that’s been my refuge from the world’s cruelty:

This is a lot to put on a book, but I guess my answer would be THE SUN ALSO RISES because it is the book that has been with me on the most trips, the one I have read the most and the one that I can open, and often do open, to any page and feel something incredible each time.