Cool Books I Think You Should Read

I’m going to channel my inner librarian and preach on the subject of good books for a minute.

There aren’t that many out there right now. It’s rather depressing. The advent of the e-book means that it is easier than ever to get published. It also means that it is easier than ever to saturate the world with poorly written crap.

I’m also pretty much over teen wizards, witches, vampires, werewolves or any combination thereof. Unfortunately, the publishing world seems to just be getting started.

The following books are all unusual and interesting. If you’re a fan of Danielle Steel or James Patterson + Friends, they probably aren’t for you. Just fair warning! :)

1. The Hunger Games triology (Suzanne Collins). You’d have to be living under a rock not to know about this, but just in case you have, indeed been hanging out in a cave or something (or busy at work, or just not paying attention to media hype) - these books really are worth the read. The concept isn’t that new (it’s reminiscent of Shirley Jackson’s 1948 short story “The Lottery”) but the delivery is fantastic and very enjoyable. I think the upcoming movies will most likely suck the big one, but that’s usually what happens when Hollywood gets ahold of something unique (see: what Hollywood did to “The Golden Compass”).
   
   
   


2. The Long Walk (Stephen King). It’s a short story, but it will stay with you. I won’t stay anymore because to do so might spoil it. Suffice it to say it’s not monsters-under-the-bed or crazy-people scary, but it is terrifying in its own way.
   
   
   


3. Anything by John Connolly. http://www.johnconnollybooks.com/ I’m spelling out the link because this guy is so damn awesome. Make sure you get the right John Connelly. This is the Irish one. You don’t want the other one. I recommend starting with his first book “Every Dead Thing” and going from there. You won’t be disappointed. I remember when I first discovered him and I was so frantic to get through all the books that I ran to the nearest bookstore (I think I was in Boston at the time) and bought all I could find!
   
   
   


4. Anything by F. Paul Wilson. He writes the delightfully weird and wonderful Repairman Jack series. I don’t even know how to explain this series except to say that if you like strong characters, a bit of the unusual/odd and mystery then you will love these books. The other cool thing is that his other books/short stories follow the Repairman Jack storyline and so they all interweave and interconnect. Check ‘em out, but prepare to be hooked.
   
   
   


5. Anything by Robert Sawyer. Of course I love science fiction. But only a certain brand of it. I don’t like the spaceship kind - I like the future of science/technology kind. Even though he’s Canadian (a very obvious disability), Sawyer is still one of my favourite authors around. Where do you think my ideas about robot bodies came from??! :P
   
   
   


6. The Thursday Next series (Jasper Fforde). Do you love words? Do you love literature? Do you have a sense of humour? If so, you’ll love these books. People all over the world like them so much that they’ve spawned a cult following and there is an annual Fforde Ffiesta that takes place in England.
   
   
   


7. The Jack Reacher series (Lee Child). I’ve been reading these for years. Yes, they are commercial and yes they always are in the bookstores in the top 10 list, but there is a good reason. They are honestly very good books - that just happen to feature suspense, action, adventure and a healthy dose of American-style whoop-ass. They’re great books for travel or a weekend escape. Not high art, but definitely good writing and very enjoyable. And no vampires (so far).
   
   
   


8. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell (Susanna Clarke). This is one of those that is tough to explain, but it involves magic, and human pride, and fairies, and the supernatural and is written in a style that almost makes it all seem real. It’s long and a bit dense at times and not for the faint-hearted. But it’s fun.
   
   
   


9. The Night Circus (Erin Morgenstern). Every so often a book comes along that is just so wonderful and brilliant and magical that you find yourself thinking “Now why didn’t I come up with that?!”. This is one of those books. It is so damn good I read it twice in a row. It’s original and daring and a bit quirkly - and worth every penny. You can’t help but be sucked in. I can’t wait for the next installment.
   
   


10. I’m going to break my rule above and finish with a book that involves not only witches, but also vampires. And a college. And time-travel. And a bunch of other good stuff. It’s called A Discovery of Witches (Deborah Harkness) and it is awesome. It is the first in a trilogy and I can’t wait for the next book to come out. It just goes to show that you can talk about witchy blood-sucking stuff without resorting to the glittery inanity of Twilight & co.

I hope you enjoy these books - happy reading! :)