I thought about writing a list of things I hate, but honestly, I don’t think I could come up with 23 examples, so I decided to talk about favorite books instead.
#23) The Walking Dead, Robert Kirkman—I feel a little silly starting this list with what is essentially a comic book, but I have to say that it has to be the best example of zombie apocalypse fiction I have ever read. If you have never bothered to look at these books, and are a fan of the zombie genre, it is definitely worth the time.
#22) Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser—This is really nothing more than a sociological study of fast food—primarily McDonald’s, because let’s face it they are the king of the fast food world—and its effects on our society. When I first started this book I had to stop and get myself a highlighter to mark the things that I found to be utterly unbelievable, there were more than I could count when I was finished and I ended up using a whole highlighter and had to get a new one to finish the book.
#21) The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins—I found the first book in the series to be completely engrossing. The other two weren’t as good in my opinion but were still good enough to mention, but wouldn’t make my list if they weren’t tied to the first one.
#20) Blaze, Richard Bachman(A.K.A-Stephen King)—This book is about two, or one, depending on how your take of this novel, criminals that kidnap a baby for ransom. They protagonist is a dim-witted orphan who goes by the name Blaze, and as I got to know Blaze and his story, I found myself reliving moments from my childhood. Let me just say that Blaze and I could have been brothers, were he not fictional.
#19) Pillars of the Earth, Ken Follett—I was given this book by a cousin of mine late one night, and to be perfectly honest I had little hope I would like it. Hell, I was almost certain I wouldn’t even read it, but I did, and I loved it.
#18) 20th Century Ghosts, Joe Hill—This book is a collection of short fiction, and inside of it is a story named Pop Art, which is my favorite piece of short fiction I have ever read. It is quirky and weird, touching and well told. It is excellent in so many ways. The rest of the stories are pretty good as well, but to not mention Pop Art here would be a mistake.
#17) Morality, Stephen King—This too is a piece of short fiction—I must say his short stories is just one small reason I have always been a huge fan of King. No other author has ever successfully marketed his short stories the way he has, and for good reason. This story is about a couple that is struggling with money and is presented with a way to make some quick cash, but in order to do so they must cross a line that not everyone would.
#16) Ishmael, Daniel Quinn—A talking gorilla teaches a man the finer points of living in harmony with the world, and he does it in a way that everyone can understand it. There are a few flaws in his philosophy, but all in all this book will make you think.
#15) Notes of a Dirty Old Man, Charles Bukowski—Famous for his poetry, this is a collection of stories from the admitted dirty old man himself. Bukowski tells many stories that are so horrifying and I-can’t-turn-away-from-this-nightmare in nature, and you may never know if they are true or simply semi-autobiographical, but there is bare knuckle honesty in his words and for that it makes this list.
#14) Cat’s Cradle, Kurt Vonnegut—Almost anything by this man is worth reading, this is my favorite of the one’s I have read but I could list several here that wouldn’t be out of place on this list.
#13) Naked, David Sedaris—This is the first and only novel I have read by Sedaris, but I found it funny and more than a little frightening in its honesty. I plan to read more of him in the near future.
#12) Villa Incognito, Tom Robbins—Robbins is one of my favorite authors and his name will appear on this list again, but this book captures his satirical humor and around-your-ass-to-get-to-your-elbow way of telling a story. I find him to be hilarious and a master of a metaphor.
#11) To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee—I know that this book will make many of your lists as well so I won’t go into much detail about it, but I have to thank 9th grade English for making me read this book.
#10) On Writing, Stephen King—I have read only two different books about the craft and this one was by far the best. It is a memoir, and reads more like a novel and less like a textbook than you might imagine. I would recommend it to anyone that dreams of writing in one fashion or another.
#9) Mine, Robert R. McCammon—I read this book as a teenager and have read later novels by the same author in recent months and found them less than appealing, I have plans to go back and reread this book to see if I still find it as engrossing as I did years ago, but it lives in my memory as a true thriller in every sense of the word. It is about a psychopathic woman that steals an infant from the hospital and the ensuing man hunt to get it back, an edge of your seat page turner.
#8) The Dark Tower, Stephen King—This is just one title from the seven book series by King, and honestly I can’t say it is my favorite of the series, but I can’t pick a favorite. They are all wonderful so in order to keep from listing them all separately, or trying to pick just one, I list them all under the title of the series itself. If you have not read them, and are a fan of Sci-fi-fantasy, they will not disappoint.
#7) Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates, Tom Robbins—The protagonist in this novel—he goes by the name Switters—is probably my favorite literary character of all time. He is funny and flawed, hell bent on sex with his sixteen year old step-sister, and spends 4/5ths of the book in a wheel chair, even though he can walk, because a witch doctor tells him that his feet can never touch the ground again. A great read.
#6) Aztec, Gary Jennings—Historical fiction can be a hard sell for me, if there isn’t enough actual history involved then I lose interest quickly, who wants to read a textbook on history after all? This book is a well told and interesting look at the whole of Central and South American Indian tribes. Their beliefs, their rituals, their true nature, they were not the blood thirsty heathens many people think they were—way more so than the Spaniards that eventually conquer them—I would say.
#5) 11/22/63, Stephen King—Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. Read it today, seriously.
#4) Danny, The Champion of the World, Roald Dahl—I fell in love with Dahl in fourth grade and read everything I could find by him like it was my life’s goal. This was my favorite of the group, and I will never forget the days spent in his worlds.
#3) Gerald’s Game, Stephen King—There are many moments in this novel where the words “Holy Shit!” are apt and warranted. A woman, alone and naked, handcuffed to a bed and her desperate attempts to free herself.
#2) The Bachman Books, Richard Bachman(A.K.A-Stephen King)—A collection of short novels that changed my life. I was in sixth grade when I was introduced to this book by a teacher; I was given the book for Christmas that year and have never looked back. Each of them holds fond memories and many a night spent reading with a flashlight until I could hold my eyes open no longer.
#1) IT, Stephen King—I have read this book three times and it never disappoints. It always scares me, makes me laugh, and reminds me that there are few things that are as powerful as true friendship and love. I will read it again soon, and will not skip a word when I do so.
There are probably some books that I am forgetting here, and the order of the list is as close as I could come to giving them a true number value, but the idea is still the same. I love them all and hope that you might find something here that you haven’t read and will love as much as I do.