I have to return some videotapes

It was many years after its publication (8,9,10?) that I stumbled upon American Psycho. It was published a few years after I graduated high school, so really it should've clicked with me back then but I was too busy with other things. I struggle to remember my life back then. Actually, I remember my life - had a one bedroom (well, one room) apartment, going to school (off and on before getting head out of my ass), getting laid and generally enjoying my newfound independence (left toxic family behind) and was discovering myself. It is kind of ironic that I discovered the book while working in New York since that is where it is set. But then, I go back to thinking about what I was reading back then - well, lots of stuff for college, lots of computer stuff and it seems like lots of non-fiction at the time. As far as reading and subjects, I tend to go from subject to subject - dive in, learn and move on. As an example, I used to play ball with a bunch of Jehovah's Witnesses (I was a "worldly" as they put it). I had never thought much about them and their beliefs, I just wanted to play ball, but there was a deep discussion about religion and them at one time (probably somebody I was or wanted to see naked). Anyway, I ended up hitting the library and found a couple books on the religion and devoured them - very interesting stuff (for me at the time), but really lots of stuff relevant to cults. 

Anyway, back to American Psycho. I discovered it - can't remember if saw movie or read book first - and instantly loved it. I loved the detail, how his mind worked, the critique of consumerism and narcissistic personality of most - and his general disdain for people really clicked with me (myopic is a good term for most people). I read it and ended up having nightmares (the two very graphic murders) and being surprised as nothing ever disturbed like that. Anyway, I read it again (skipping those two parts) and watched the movie countless times. I then researched and discovered all of the drama around its publication - women groups very upset (can you say misogynistic?) and many refused to publish it. But, it was a great success. The author's earlier book (Less Than Zero) never really clicked with me - since I was never a partier or drug addict - and none of his other books ever met the same success or controversy. What is interesting about the author is his wealthy, connected father and direct contact with publishing world. Would he ever have been published without those connections? He's the kind of person who has never earned anything, the entitled, that I hate, but I still like the book. 

The reason this all came up is a Facebook posting by a friend, where they quote the book - well, movie in this case. She mentioned the famous business card scene and it all came back to me. I posted a response and we ended up discussing it at work. I immediately came home, did a few Web searches (the author has a podcast - how original since half the world has one) and finally pulled the book from the shelf and reading away (gotta remember to skip the killings). I still like it. There was a discussion a while back about favorite book - I mentioned The World According to Garp which I do like, but how did I forget Bateman?