_Free Fall_ by William Golding and _The Violent Bear it Away_ by Flannery O'Connor are two of my favorite books.

If you ever get a chance to read any of Roald Dahl's grown-up stories, they're wonderfull twisted. Wendy Brenner also writes good short stories; she has two books: _Large Animals in Everyday Life_ and _Phone Calls from the Dead_. Another story collection I like is _Someone to Watch Over Me_ by Richard Bausch. "Glass Meadow" is my favorite story in that collection.