Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Haruki Murakami
George Saunders
James Baldwin
Paul Auster
Roberto Bolaño
Cormac McCarthy And some fav books:
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Lolita
Faith, Hope, & Carnage
The Savage Detectives
Tenth of December
Blood Meridian
For short stories: Distant Star by Roberto Bolaño, he makes all his stories feel like an adventure, they stretch decades and lifetimes. Cathedral by Raymond Carver, really highlights the sadness and absurdity of regular life with characteristically dry and comic style. Short Novels:
I've recommended Kokoro by Sōseki on here before, but it's really great. Clock Without Hands by Carson McCullers is a great novel. Some really good Southern gothic.
i think everybody hates small talk, but everybody is also very different from each other, I guess it’s a matter of being understanding with the person or people you’re talking to at the moment. But I do think that personal questions and talking about real life experiences is what gets conversations going, it’s also what makes you remember people and want to reconnect with them. when talking to somebody new there’s nothing better to a first impression than someone who engages and listens. We get what we give so might as well give as much as we can.
