Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger

This is the best I've read all year and quite possibly the best ever. Again, Salinger uses very little plot and heavy dialogue to create scenes that are so human. The characters are just so ineffably real. Although I might call them ordinary, just like Vonnegut's characters, they are so much more compelling than his.

I think these two stories of unequal length are actually better than The Catcher in the Rye. Franny is an incredible, and Franny the character is to die for. Her story is simple and takes place in a single afternoon but I was pleading for it not to end. His writing may not be the most intricate and complex, but I think Salinger's brilliance stands alone. I think it will be a long time before I find somebody whose prose is so genuine, so witty, and so freaking entertaining as his. Really incredible stuff.