I read a lot of books. A lot of books. Many of the books I read are good. Some are very good. Only a few are what I would call great. Here are a few great reads worth checking out, in no particular order:
Novels:
- THE GIVEN DAY, SHUTTER ISLAND, PRAYERS FOR RAIN, MYSTIC RIVER, and DARKNESS, TAKE MY HAND by Dennis Lehane
- ALREADY DEAD (and the rest of the Joe Pitt Casebooks) and THE MYSTIC ARTS OF ERASING ALL SIGNS OF DEATH by Charlie Huston
- GET SHORTY and LABRAVA by Elmore Leonard
- THE POET by Michael Connelly
- A PRAYER FOR THE DYING, THE SPEED QUEEN and SONGS FOR THE MISSING and EMILY, ALONE by Stewart O’Nan
- RIVEN ROCK, WORLD’S END, EAST IS EAST, and THE TORTILLA CURTAIN by T.C. Boyle
- MIDDLESEX by Jeffrey Eugenides
- ALL THE KING’S MEN by Robert Penn Warren
- INVISIBLE MAN by Ralph Ellison
- LORD OF THE FLIES by William Golding
- GHOST STORY and THE HELLFIRE CLUB by Peter Straub
- THE DEAD ZONE, PET SEMATARY, THE DARK HALF, THE STAND, INSOMNIA, DESPERATION, THE GREEN MILE, BAG OF BONES, DUMA KEY and THE DARK TOWER series by Stephen King
- THE TALISMAN and BLACK HOUSE by Stephen King and Peter Straub
- VELOCITY by Dean Koontz
- A LOWER DEEP, THE MIDNIGHT ROAD and EVERY SHALLOW CUT by Tom Piccirilli
- THE STRAW MEN by Michael Marshall
- THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE by James M. Cain
- HEART-SHAPED BOX by Joe Hill
- THE BEACH by Alex Garland
- THE ROAD by Cormac McCarthy
- FORTY WORDS FOR SORROW by Giles Blunt
- THE KITE RUNNER by Khaled Hosseini
- ELECTION by Tom Perrotta
- THE PLOT AGAINST AMERICA and THE HUMAN STAIN by Philip Roth
- FREEDOMLAND and LUSH LIFE by Richard Price
- KING SUCKERMAN and THE SWEET FOREVER by George Pelecanos
- THE RESURRECTIONISTS by Michael Collins
- ROAD KILL (or JOYRIDE) and RED by Jack Ketchum
- A SIMPLE PLAN by Scott Smith
- RUN by Douglas E. Winter
- AMERICAN GODS and CORALINE by Neil Gaiman
- PERDIDO STREET STATION and THE SCAR by China Miéville
- THE GOLDEN COMPASS by Philip Pullman
- PARIS TROUT and THE PAPERBOY by Pete Dexter
- SPHERE, RISING SUN, and PREY by Michael Crichton
- SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE by Kurt Vonnegut
- FLESH AND BLOOD by Michael Cunningham
- GOOD PEOPLE by Marcus Sakey
- CHASING THE DEAD by Joe Schreiber
- THE BELL JAR by Sylvia Plath
- THE HARD WAY by Lee Child
- TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD by Harper Lee
- EVERY DEAD THING by John Connolly
- THE KEEP by Jennifer Egan
- THE LATHE OF HEAVEN by Ursula K. Le Guin
- LOWBOY by John Wray
- THE STRAIN by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan
- LIGHT BOXES by Shane Jones
- BEL CANTO by Ann Patchett
- BEAT THE REAPER by Josh Bazell
- THE CARETAKER OF LORNE FIELD by Dave Zeltserman
- SWAMPLANDIA! by Karen Russell
- RUN by Blake Crouch
- THE HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins
- FUN AND GAMES by Duane Swierczynski
- THE GROVE by John Rector
- BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS by Kurt Vonnegut
- READY PLAYER ONE by Ernest Cline
- DEATH WISHING by Laura Ellen Scott
- THE IMPERFECTIONISTS by Tom Rachman (under novels, but it’s really a novel-in-stories)
- BRIGHT SHINY MORNING by James Frey
- THE SECRET HISTORY by Donna Tartt
- SHARP TEETH by Tony Barlow
- THE PASSAGE by Justin Cronin
- PRINCE OF THIEVES by Chuck Hogan
- NEVER LET ME GO by Kazuo Ishiguro
- THEN WE CAME TO THE END by Joshua Ferris
- ROOM by Emma Donoghue
Short Story Collections:
- EVERYTHING THAT RISES MUST CONVERGE by Flannery O’Connor
- THE STORIES OF JOHN CHEEVER
- THE DEAD FISH MUSEUM by Charles D’Ambrosio
- THE RESURRECTION MAN’S LEGACY by Dale Bailey
- THE COMPLETE STORIES OF TRUMAN CAPOTE
- A MODEL WORLD and WEREWOLVES IN THEIR YOUTH by Michael Chabon
- LUCKY GIRLS by Nell Freudenberger
- LOST IN THE CITY by Edward P. Jones
- The BEST AMERICAN SHORT STORIES series
- The BEST AMERICAN MYSTERY STORIES series
- CIVILWARLAND IN BAD DECLINE by George Saunders
- THE THINGS THEY CARRIED by Tim O’Brien
- AFTER THE PLAGUE and TOOTH & CLAW by T.C. Boyle
- THE SECRET GOLDFISH and THE SPOT by David Means
- PEACEABLE KINGDOM by Jack Ketchum
- 20th CENTURY GHOSTS by Joe Hill
- IN THE ELECTRIC EDEN by Nick Arvin
- WHEN THE NINES ROLL OVER by David Benioff
- THE WHORE’S CHILD by Richard Russo
- ANIMAL CRACKERS by Hannah Tinti
- CORONADO by Dennis Lehane
- THE GIRL ON THE FRIDGE by Etgar Keret
- EVERYTHING RAVAGED, EVERYTHING BURNED: STORIES by Wells Tower
- MAD TO LIVE by Randall Brown
- STORIES FOR NIGHTTIME AND SOME FOR THE DAY by Ben Loory
- OLIVE KITTERIDGE by Elizabeth Strout
- HOW THEY WERE FOUND by Matt Bell
Graphic Novels:
- WATCHMEN by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
- LOCKE & KEY, Vol. 1: WELCOME TO LOVECRAFT by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez
- THE DARK TOWER: THE GUNSLINGER BORN by Peter David, Robin Furth, Jae Lee, and Richard Isanove
- PRIDE OF BAGHDAD by Brian K. Vaughan and Niko Henrichon
- STITCHES: A MEMOIR by David Small
Audiobooks:
- THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN by Garth Stein, read by Christopher Evan Welch
- 61 HOURS, WORTH DYING FOR and GONE TOMORROW by Lee Child, read by Dick Hill
- FEAST DAY OF FOOLS, THE GLASS RAINBOW and RAIN GODS by James Lee Burke, read by Will Patton
- CITY OF THIEVES by David Benioff, read by Ron Perlman
- THE LINCOLN LAWYER by Michael Connelly, read by Adam Grupper
- LONG LOST by Harlan Coben, read by Steven Weber and THE INNOCENT by Harlan Coben, read by Scott Brick
- THE CRIME WRITER by Gregg Hurwitz, read by Scott Brick
Non-Fiction:
- SEX, DRUGS, AND COCOA PUFFS by Chuck Klosterman
- MICROSTYLE: THE ART OF WRITING LITTLE by Christopher Johnson
