Originally Posted by jdewaard 
Catch 22 is possibly the finest book ever written. Joseph Heller is the man.
Others:
J.D. Salinger
Jack Kerouac
Orson Scott Card
Aldous Huxley
Ken Kesey
Anything by those guys is gold.
and a special nod to Hunter S. Thompson.
Card is one of my favorites.
I'm currently reading the Night's Dawn Trilogy from Peter F. Hamilton. Before that was a Harlan Coben book, I think he's a great author. Before that was a Jack Reacher novel by Lee Child.
