I've read many books over the course of my short life, books that shaped my thoughts and goals, and influenced my writing. I have many, many favorites, but I will share my six favorite books, the ones I am endlessly pushing. Hopefully, I'll inspire you to pick them up, too.

6. "The Black Dahlia" by James Ellroy

This novel was my first introduction to this splendid crime writer. Published in 1987 as the first volume in Ellroy's "L.A. Quartet," it explores the infamous 1947 murder of Elizabeth Short and offers a solution. Though one could read it primarily as a mystery (and a thoroughly satisfying one at that, as the book introduces many little mysteries that are eventually cleared up), it is so much more. It is an exploration of friendship, love and power. I found it riveting. The book is to crime fiction as "A Song of Ice and Fire" is to fantasy fiction. It offers a brutal, yet realistic depiction of the era it is set in, and that, as in real life, there are no true heroes. In addition to that, it taught me that a first person narrative could be much more complex. Most first person novels, like, say, "Fight Club," have linear plots that follow a straight logical path. However, in our lives we juggle multiple responsibilities. Besides hunting a killer, the narrator, "Bucky" Bleichert is distracted with a wife and mistress, a missing friend, an ailing father, corrupt, uncaring co-workers and, among other things, a failing police career, making it all the more amazing that he catches up with the culprit and dispenses justice after two long years.

5. "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury and 4. "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding

I list both here because they've influenced me in much the same way. Besides being thrilling science fiction adventures, they offer startling insights into the human mind and the results of unchecked power. These books taught me that literature could be exciting and possess literary merit. They also taught me how to weave meaning into my own work without disrupting the narrative flow.

3. "The Once & Future King" by T.H. White

Equal parts comedy, adventure and tragedy, this fantasy classic is, in my opinion, the best fantasy novel ever written and, perhaps, simply one of the greatest books. It concerns the education, ascendancy and ultimately, the collapse of King Arthur and his knights. In truth, it is composed of four smaller books, which offer different, yet wholly coherent tones. From the hilariously anachronistic wizard Merlin to the brutal, yet loyal Lancelot to the dutiful, if uninspired thinker and monarch Arthur, to the wonderfully wicked Morgaine the book is populated by full, memorable characters. Though based on legend, White has given his own spin to the story. For example, in legend Lancelot was the handsomest of Arthur's knights, while here he is the ugliest, and, in addition, he is a closet sadist and philanderer. So the book always feels fresh. Perhaps White's greatest addition is his injection of psychology, giving the imperfect characters deep, inner lives, obsessions, contradictions, etc. All this is accomplished without slowing the narrative flow. Simply put, the novel is a real feast, especially to other writers. I know I've been trying to emulate it for years.

2. "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcìa Màrquez

(I'd include a cover, but I couldn't get Muse to accept one.)

In truth, all of Señor Màrquez's books have influenced me, but I list this one because it was the first one I read. It concerns seven generations of the Buendìa family and the rise and fall of their hometown Macondo, which represents the whole of Colombia. Once again I have listed a rather meaty novel, there is so much substance in this book: beautiful, but simple writing, effortless developments of characters who essentially share the same names, an allegorical history of Colombia, innumerable memorable quotations and events, subtle weavings of magic, which is treated as a mundane occurrence and a wonderful unpredictability. Indeed, I never knew where the book would lead me, and I regretted every page I turned because it meant one less page of discovery, but I simply couldn't stop reading it. It's not a short book, it's over 400 pages, but I finished it in two days. Actually, I appreciate it that much more, because I was able to recognize all the clever reemergence of the Chekhov's guns. The only way this volume could be better for me would be if I were to read it in its original Spanish. After this book I binged on every Màrquez book my local library offered and, Dios mio, was it an epicurean feast.

1. "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger

Yeah, I know, pretty stereotypical, right? You can laugh or scoff if you wish. But this novel changed my life by convincing me to become a writer. Before reading this book, I had a vague notion of what I wanted to do with my life. I always wanted to be a storyteller in some form or another, like a video game developer or cartoonist. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your perspective) I can't draw or program code, and for some time, after I'd admitted this to myself, I was without purpose or direction. Imagine my surprise when I pulled this 50-year-old volume from the shelf of my local library and started reading. It had a tone that was so...familiar. Yeah, sure, our colloquialisms have changed, but Holden Caulfield, for the first time in my experience reading older books, talked like a real person. In a lot of older books people talk in an unrealistic, high English prose, even the supposedly uneducated characters. As a result, many old books, even by different authors, sounded the same to me. Not so with "Catcher." Holden actually sounds like a teenager. In equal doses, it made me laugh, cry and think, and I guess that is what made me start writing in earnest. I don't know exactly what it was, but after reading this book I felt such an urge to create something, to represent my time on Earth, and pen and paper seemed like the most accessible safety valve for this up-welling within me. Though not writing in the same genre, per se, I have, and continue to, write works that I think will inspire others to pursue creative passions.