Sick, Fucked Up Books Make For Great Reads

i recently finished what i would say is my new favorite book.
sharp objects
by gillian flynn
it is supremely fucked up and all things terrible.  an incredible twist focusing on women as nasty, conniving characters.  none of this women being victims bullshit or simply that women are on the receiving end of awful behavior and the results of said awful behavior.  in this book, women are presented as horrible human beings - hell bent on inflicting pain and damage if it benefited them.  we very seldom see women presented as they are in this book and it's quite refreshing.  and if you'd like, the author wrote a little essay about her book here.
for the love of all that's holy - read this fucking book.
because it has everything.  drug use, sexual exploits, creepy, fucked up small town bullshit, deep seated family issues, murder, psychological issues, etc.
there is something about the way the author writes that makes you sympathize and hate all at the same time.  not to mention that although some parts are completely fucked up - you can't help but judge yourself a little because at one point in your life - you've thought along those exact same lines.
the quote below is like an honest slap in the face.  because who doesn't or hasn't used alcohol as a buffer, an excuse, an escape, or as a way to cope?
"i've always been partial to the image of liquor as lubrication - a layer of protection from all the sharp objects in your head."
not to mention that it simply refuses to let women be standby characters.  it pushes back when it tries to pigeon-hole women as soft characters.  it serves to prove that women be just as sick, sadistic, and fucked up as many male characters can be.  it's nice to be able to read something that's not so cliche when it comes to women.
this book forces you to face some of the awful truths about the character of women and that those personality traits, to some extent, exist in all of us.

"sometimes i think illness sits inside every woman, waiting for the right moment to bloom.  i have known so many sick women all my life.  women with chronic pain, with ever-gestating diseases.  women with conditions.  men, sure, they have bone snaps, they have backaches, they have a surgery or two, yank out a tonsil, insert a shiny plastic hip.  women get consumed."