As an English major, I read so many books I can't even begin to count ( love the Delillo, Vonnegut, and Melville love in here), but if I had to rank my favorite book it would not be any of the ones I read in school. Perhaps the fact that it was a random pick up is why I love it. Shot in the Heart by Mikal Gilmore This is Gary Gilmore's brother (the last man legally put to death by firing squad in the U.S.) retracing his family's history over the generations in order to prove that his family is cursed and doomed to failure no matter what. I couldn't put the thing down.