Rage

Author: Stephen King writing as Richard Bachman

First line: The morning I got it on was nice; a nice May morning.

Why you should read this book: It was almost King's first published novel, and its intelligent examination of adolescent pressures and social relationships creates a dynamic picture of the motives for school shootings that predates Columbine by thirty years. Never mind Charlie Decker's classic Oedipal complex, the great fun here is in watching the hierarchy among his hostages unwind as they allow him to deconstruct their facades and confront their reality. A strange, dangerous, angry, sad, realistic book.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You've been taking your father's gun to school lately, just in case.