Well, I'd like it if people shared any special books that they've read throughout their lives. Certainly there are books that are sort of run of the mill, most Michael Crichton novels for example, but every now and again you'll read a book that is so distinct from others that it pushes itself into something that is beyond a simple genre boundry, "House of Leaves" for example. This thread is not just limited to books of that nature, I would like to hear about books that are either distinct in their prose, subject matter or their obscurity:quality ratio(I'm a big fan of books that are rare and great).
I'll list a few that I've come across that are fantastic on so many levels.
"House of Leaves", Mark Z. Danielewski: Previously listed, I'll admit, but so great as to warrant it. I wish I could describe it, but it really is impossible to do so in less than four pages.
"Invisible Man", Ralph Ellison: Fantastic book, great prose and very memorable characters. Probably the best book I've seen that deals with race.
"Song of Solomon", Toni Morrison: Surrealist piece at times, but primarily grounded in reality.
"Player Piano", Kurt Vonnegut: Even if everything else in this book was terrible, which it isn't, the ending alone warrants complete absorption of the pages.
"Faust", Goethe: It's kind of hard to read a play mind you, but if you don't mind doing so then this is a fantastic character study.
I've got more, but I don't want the list to be too long as it would just become pointless as many would likely skip over it. So, does anyone have any good reccomendations?
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It's phenomenal.. 
