I need a piece of advice...

Invisible Monsters... I finished it yesterday, and my eyes are still burning from such a good read. That was just amazing, it doesn't stop and goes further than you'd ever think. I've read Survivor, Fight Club, Choke as well, and would recommend IM first, it's simply my favorite.

Definitely Invisible Monsters or Survivor. Or Choke. I didn't pick up Fight Club until after reading IM, which was after seeing Fight Club in theaters.

My favorite Chuck book is by far Survivor. I just re-read it and discovered the "real" ending.

[QUOTE=Undertow][B]Definitely Invisible Monsters or Survivor. Or Choke[/B]. I didn't pick up Fight Club until after reading IM, which was after seeing Fight Club in theaters.[/QUOTE]
Way to clarify which one she should recommend first.

I read the books in order of publication (bought FC, then bought Survivor and IM the same day, then bought Choke, after checking it out of the library with Lullaby, then F&R, then Diary. Still don't own Lullaby or StF).

I'd recommend reading the books like that, in order. Fight Club can be read on a couple different levels: one time it's funny and sardonic, another time it can be depressing as hell. And I think it has the best re-read value, since the chapters really CAN function as indepenent short stories.

Survivor reads, for me, as one BIG story, like a timeline.

Invisible Monsters, how it jumps around, has that great chewy short story quality to all of it, where it's a great book to keep on the back of your toilet. In a way, it's more of a "cheerful" read than FC, despite the subject matter. The only problem for me was it was hard to get into. I read the first chapter, then put it down for a couple days, then picked it up and enjoyed the hell out of it. But your mileage may vary.

So... I'd say Fight Club first.

[QUOTE=Smartazboy]Way to clarify which one she should recommend first. ;)[/QUOTE]

It's a three-way tie!

Maybe she can line them all up side to side and read each line in each book straight across. I bet that would be a fun read.

My vote's for IM first

[QUOTE=Smartazboy]Maybe she can line them all up side to side and read each line in each book straight across. I bet that would be a fun read.[/QUOTE]

"Tyler gets me a job as a waiter, and after that he's pushing a gun in my mouth and saying, the first step to eternal life is you have to die. Testing, testing. Where you're supposed to be is some big West Hills wedding reception in a big manor house with flower arrangements and stuffed mushrooms over the house. If you're going to read this, don't bother."

[QUOTE=Spike]"Tyler gets me a job as a waiter, and after that he's pushing a gun in my mouth and saying, the first step to eternal life is you have to die. Testing, testing. Where you're supposed to be is some big West Hills wedding reception in a big manor house with flower arrangements and stuffed mushrooms over the house. If you're going to read this, don't bother."[/QUOTE]
Ha. Thats great. Even if just for taking the time to look it up.

The problem is...do you start them on one of the best ones and then let them work their way down or do you start at the top? If you start at the bottom they may not want to read any more, if you start at the top they're going to be dissappointed.

[QUOTE=mikandrewz]The problem is...do you start them on one of the best ones and then let them work their way down or do you start at the top? If you start at the bottom they may not want to read any more, if you start at the top they're going to be dissappointed.[/QUOTE]

Yeh - but flicking through some of the numerous "what's your fave chuck" threads it seems that there is no general consensus on which is best and which is worst.

If she hasn't seen the film, I'd say Fight Club.

Otherwise, any of them.

Personally:

My opinion is Survivor, or Lullaby, and this is why:

When I first started reading IM, I read the first 30 pages and became so lost that I almost didnt finish it. The reason I did, that I made the decision to get back to it, was that I [i]knew[/i] I trusted the author. So, I continued and let Chuck take me on that ride. But, if Id never read his work before, I might have continued to question if I would have gotten anything outta the full read. (I did of course get much outta the read.)

I recommend Survivor or Lullaby because there is so much humor and joy in the read that it is easy to fall in love with trusting Chuck's writing. IM--to me--is dizzying and crazy and fun all at the same time.

Fight Club may be viewed by a new reader as shadowed by David Fincher's creation and I think it could be easy for a first time reader to think Chuck got "lucky" with that one and that maybe his other books arent as good.

Diary--in my opinion--is Chuck's best written book to date, but it didnt make me laugh to the point of spitting on myself like Survivor did, or clinch my jaw the way Lullaby did on a few occasions. And the beginning of Choke may make a new reader almost not trust the rest of the book, as happened to a friend of mine a few days ago--he'd read the first chapter and then put it down and asked me if the book is really good or if he'd be lost the whole time. I told him to shut up and read through chapter four and then decide if he wanted to keep reading or not.

Id say Survivor, as a number one choice. Because the airplane knowledge in the beginning is fun to know about. And the book is loud funny.
kabol

For these reasons, I would recommend

Very well put, Jkabol. I've always recommended Survivor first.

my first was lullaby, and i couldnt put it down, my vote is there
or with choke, if not that

Choke
oh but i really liked Lullaby...
go with Choke.
Survivor was awesome though...
IM was good too...
get her to read Choke
dont tell her to read Diary- thats the important part.
If she reads Fight Club she'll get better understanding of Chuck though- especially if ses seen the movie...
I say Choke.
Four times.

[QUOTE=the bride]A friend of mine would like to read something by Chuck, and asked me what novel she should read first. I think she wants to start with Fight Club, but I would suggest Invisible Monsters.
What's your opinion?[/QUOTE]
if shes already seen the movie id say go with IM as a next step
then go back and read fight club afterwards
or move along to Survivor, then FC
or move along to Survivor, then Choke, then FC
but definitely IM firstly

the first book i read was lullaby.

Choke is what I would go with. Or you could hook people the way I do, by playing the audio of Chuck reading Guts for them. I have yet to play that for someone who wasn't blown away.