>I just ordered it on your recommendation. This thread was not started looking for books to read -- the last thing I need.

I think (or at least hope) you'll like it. I read it when I was 17, and then in my early 20's, and then about every five years since I've read it.

There are some books I loved in my late teens/early 20's but when I look through them again, I realize they were "stage" books (Catcher in the Rye definitely falls into that category). But Good Times/Bad Times is one with some real raw human emotion that both young adults and adults can relate to.