GreenMetropolis.com

Any suggestions where to start?

I've read both 'Bonfire of the Vanities' and 'Man in full' and both are excellent. Read 'Man in full' a couple of years ago and 'Bonfire of the Vanities' a very long time ago. 'I am Charlotte Simmons' is on my 'to purchase' list.

Ditto Bonfire of the Vanities, great book, terrible film.

Cheers folks, Bonfire of the Vanities it is then.

I haven't read Bonfire Of the Vanities yet. It's in the "to read " pile.
His account of Ken Kesey and his merry pranksters in The Electric Koolaid Acid Test blew me away. It took me a while to get into the rhythm of his story telling, but his style helps you get under the skin of the Acid Freaks living those magic moments in the 60s

Bonfire is certainly a must in spite of the terrible off-putting movie, but, as the post above suggests, his 'non-fiction' - really just fiction in disguise - should not be passed over. By the time he gets to Charlotte Simmons, though, he's writing way beyond his knowledge of the contemporary. Yeah, he was an exciting writer, but I think he's understandably lost his gift for writing about what's happening now.

So, Tony - what authors and or books would you recommend?

Wow, Hetty, where do I start? I'm almost exclusively reading Southern (USA, that is) literature at present, but (moving up north) I really enjoyed Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections, and David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest has long been a favourite of mine - but you have to stomach reading over 1000 pages with about 150 pages of endnotes!

But for a really weird read, try Alexander Theroux's Laura Warholic. There's a very favourable review of it if you go to librarything, then 'Search'. Now if that doesn't make you want to read it instantly, then we're not talking the same language!