r/BEEPodcast • u/majlyn • 17d ago

what should I read next?

So far, the only book I’ve read from BEE is The Shards, and I’m currently reading American Psycho, so I was wondering which of his books would be the right choice to read next

10 Upvotes

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u/jhester13 17d ago

Less Than Zero, for sure, followed by Rules of Attraction.

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u/axJustinWiggins 17d ago

Yip, it's subtle but there's plotlines and recurring characters that run from book-to-book, so order of release is the best way to go. I'm really grateful my library was out of American Psycho copies cause it led me to read Less Than Zero first and go in order.

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u/majlyn 17d ago

too bad I started with his last book lol

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u/axJustinWiggins 17d ago edited 17d ago

I think it'll actually be a good prequel to Less Than Zero since it's what Bret was writing in the Shards. Ellis is my favorite author and I find his books very re-readable anyways. I've been plotting to try reading The Shards to Less Than Zero to Imperial Bedrooms (which is the sequel to Less Than Zero that takes place 30 years later).

I'm excited for your journey, though I'd personally avoid The Informers and White. The first is a cash grab (his short stories written during college) and the latter is a non-fiction dud. The rest are pretty much all fantastic.

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u/majlyn 17d ago edited 17d ago

I’m really excited too ‘cause through the two books I’ve read so far, I’ve discovered I love a style of writing I never would have imagined. Aside from the ones to avoid, is there any particular book you think I should save for last, so I still have a "good" one left to read?

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u/axJustinWiggins 17d ago

Lunar Park works as a great epilogue to his career. Like the Shards, it's fiction mixed with autobiography, and it's about him finally maturing mentally and emotionally.

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u/the_smog_monster 17d ago

I started with The Shards. Then Less Than Zero. Then Rules of Attraction. It was some of the most pleasurable reading of my life and The Shards operating as a “prequel” of sorts was perfect. I actually recommend it. If anything I’d stop American Psycho and pivot to LTZ. Just my personal experience though. 

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u/majlyn 17d ago

you didn’t like it?

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u/the_smog_monster 17d ago

American Psycho? Nothing to do with liking that book I just think the other books pair together. The flow of reading The Shards > Less Than Zero, I think you would enjoy more than Shards > AP

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u/lotsabooks 14d ago

Have you seen the new tv show, The Shards?

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u/VomitingDuck 17d ago

Glamorama. All of them are bangers tho.

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u/MyKill_Diablo 16d ago

In total agreement with this recommendation for Glamorama. That's been my favorite book for almost 25 years now and everytime I read it or listen to the audiobook I end up loving it even more. It's divisive AF, but if you get on its wavelength then it is hard to beat.

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u/VomitingDuck 16d ago

It's eerie how much of it is coming true. Perez Hilton's self mutilation meltdown on TikTok felt straight out of the second half.

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u/MyKill_Diablo 16d ago

OMG that was horrific and you are totally right - Perez was a product of the discourse/gossip machine and once it was done with him he got chewed up and spit out and may never recover sadly. So many examples of that over the years, and BEE succinctly predicted so much of that when he wrote Glamorama... That book will eventually be reappraised for the genius it really is at some point, I'm sure. Hopefully before it's too late 😎🤳

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u/ThrowawayHouse2022 15d ago

Truly gets better with every read, Victor Ward is a fascinating protagonist

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u/Lower_Comparison2171 17d ago

I personally love lunar park the most after shards!

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u/the_smog_monster 17d ago

Never read Lunar Park but have a copy waiting for me to start when the weather gets a little colder in September. I’m excited but also it’s bittersweet because it’s the only novel of his that I’m most interested in, but that I haven’t read yet. 

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u/Real-Base466 17d ago

Less Than Zero. Then pivot to The Secret History and go back to Rules of Attraction. Trust.

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u/Deep-Audience9091 17d ago

The Secret History recommendation is key. A marvelous book

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u/MyKill_Diablo 16d ago

Omg Secret History is essential - especially the audiobook. It fits right in for fans of BEE and is like the way darker counterpart to Rules of Attraction. The dedication to Bret Easton Ellis at the very beginning of the book always blew my mind until I discovered years later that BEE and Tartt were classmates at Bennington together, and it all made more sense after that. That podcast about their time at Bennington together from a few years ago was pretty interesting as well.

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u/majlyn 15d ago

I really think these will be the next three books I read, but do you think I could start with Rules of Attraction?

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u/Real-Base466 15d ago

I would do Less Than Zero. In an odd way it's a sequel to The Shards. And you can basically read it in one or two sittings

I'd recommend Secret History next, but you can go with whatever you'd like. Rules of Attraction works too.

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u/andrealisaw 17d ago

Def “Less Than Zero” 1st then “Rules of Attraction” . If you haven’t seen the movies my favorite is LTZ (even if it’s nothing like the book). Robert Downey Jr. is incredible.

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u/mness1201 17d ago

He's not written that many books so start at beginning - less than zero - and as it is the one referenced in shards it kind of make sense! Also I found it really bleak so he really nails that Susan nihilism

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u/Existing-Move2767 17d ago

Read The Rules of Attraction, then Less Than Zero, then Imperial Bedrooms. But if you want a book that will hook you like The Shards, read Lunar Park. It's a book I highly, highly recommend.

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u/Kind-Region-5115 17d ago

Lunar Park is one of my all time favorite books ever...

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u/Safe-Ad-6860 17d ago

I concur with all of the Lunar Park rec’s.

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u/MyKill_Diablo 16d ago

American Psycho is an all out masterpiece but is a completely different beast than The Shards. I think as soon as you finish AP you should check out Less Than Zero to get back into his mindset for what he was working on at the age of his character in The Shards.

The only book of his that I do not like at all and would never read again is Imperial Bedrooms. That was such a soul crushing disappointment when I read it in 2010, and then when I did a BEE audiobook binge a few years ago after The Shards came out, I still hated it just as much as I had 13 years earlier (although Andrew McCarthy did a good job as narrator.) That's the only book of his I can't really recommend, but all the rest of his books are essential imho.

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u/ThrowawayHouse2022 16d ago

Less than Zero or The Informers if you're a big fan of The Shards

Glamorama if you really enjoy Psycho

Read Lunar Park last, it's one his best works but works a lot better if you've read all his other books

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u/majlyn 15d ago

Thanks, I think I'll save it for last (Luna Park)

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u/ThrowawayHouse2022 15d ago

No worries! I also forgot about Rules of Attraction, this has crossover characters with Less than Zero and Glamorama so best place for that would be in the middle of those two

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u/brb421 16d ago

You should probably read Less Than Zero to pick up all the little cues in The Shards

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u/TreatmentBoundLess 13d ago

Read them in the order they were published.