The point is that reading Bukowski is no piece of cake. Sure, he's a master of his style but Bukowski is a heavy hitter, a 'you gonna do something about it?' kind of guy, and not to be taken lightly. I've seen people collapse in a pile of epiphanies three pages in. Whatever books you read, be sure to do some warm-up and cool-down stretching exercises. And no eating for one hour beforehand. And definitely do not handle any firearms or attempt to operate a motor vehicle while contemplating the meaning of this or that stick of dynomite, and by 'stick of dynomite' I mean 'illusion-wrecking, mind-opening, existentially-insightful turn of phrase and paragraph.'