I’m an old guy. I say this with a bit of cheek and a certain amount of incongruity. All the books on my list are old. That’s one area of continuity. Another, and I’ll probably stop at two, is that they all deal with ordinary people caught in extraordinary circumstances—those curveballs of life we flail at with an unfamiliar bat; the getting stuck on the Interstate behind a semi and some geezer in a golf cap hogging the passing lane in a Buick Le Sabre. No one makes it through this life unscathed. How we cope does more to define us than a thousand smiles when things are rosy. Thus endeth the lesson.
I grew up in Florida and we lived in an old house without central A/C.
I spent my boyhood summers in the air-conditioned public library. This is one of the all-time great coming-of-age stories. A kid and an animal who get each other. A formula that’s still exploited today and this is one of the cornerstones.
This was written in the era of Seabiscuit and War Admiral, so the fastest-horse-out-of-nowhere theme was relevant to the times.
First published in 1941, Walter Farley's best-selling novel for young readers is the triumphant tale of a boy and a wild horse. From Alec Ramsay and the Black's first meeting on an ill-fated ship to their adventures on a desert island and their eventual rescue, this beloved story will hold the rapt attention of readers new and old.
This book has been selected as a Common Core State Standards Text Exemplar (Grades 4-5, Stories) in Appendix B.
A masterful debut novel, post-WWII, and dealing with characters in the heat of battle, internally and externally.
I was forced to read it in eleventh grade Honors English (what they called AP pre-AP. Like I said, I’m old). I reread it for edification as a young writer and was awed by the craftsmanship. The writing is dense and requires patience. War is never pretty.
Hailed as one of the finest novels to come out of the Second World War, The Naked and the Dead received unprecedented critical acclaim upon its publication and has since enjoyed a long and well-deserved tenure in the American canon. This fiftieth anniversary edition features a new introduction created especially for the occasion by Norman Mailer.
Written in gritty, journalistic detail, the story follows a platoon of Marines who are stationed on the Japanese-held island of Anopopei. Composed in 1948 with the wisdom of a man twice Mailer's age and the raw courage of the young man he was, The…
"An enormous amount of fun. Wholly fresh and original. Wickedly funny...a hot, sweaty, magic- and murder-infused rollercoaster...I loved it." - David Moody, author of Hater
Once, Steve was a hero. Now he’s running from the law. And he’s just become a killer, stumbling upon a woman being assaulted by the…
Irving took the Keseyian banner and supercharged it.
An eccentric novel with eccentric characters that all made perfect sense. I especially liked the wrestling sub-theme. A foray into a competitive sport that is both mundane and allegorical. Rich in whimsy. The term pre-disastered is a master stroke of piquant invention.
A masterpiece from one of the great contemporary American writers.
'A wonderful novel, full of energy and art, at once funny and heartbreaking...terrific' WASHINGTON POST
Anniversary edition with a new afterword from the author.
A worldwide bestseller since its publication, Irving's classic is filled with stories inside stories about the life and times of T. S. Garp, struggling writer and illegitimate son of Jenny Fields - an unlikely feminist heroine ahead of her time.
Beautifully written, THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP is a powerfully compelling and compassionate coming-of-age novel that established John Irving as one of the most imaginative writers…
Had King’s name not been on the cover this book would have been hailed as much a masterwork of horror/fantasy as The Exorcist and Rosemary’s Baby.
This book (in my opinion) is his most potent prose. Besides being a great storyline, it is a work of art and worthy of recognition beyond just another King novel. Weighty responsibility foisted upon a vulnerable person is a theme I’ve employed. King nailed this.
A #1 New York Times bestseller about a man who wakes up from a five-year coma able to see people’s futures and the terrible fate awaiting mankind—a “compulsive page-turner” (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution).
Johnny Smith awakens from a five-year coma after his car accident and discovers that he can see people’s futures and pasts when he touches them. Many consider his talent a gift; Johnny feels cursed. His fiancée married another man during his coma and people clamor for him to solve their problems.
Famed Australian literary critic Peter Craven has included Mural in his best books for 2024. He called it "dark and brilliant." Rod McLary in the Queensland Reviewers Collective says it's "breath-taking," a "tour de force of literary fiction." On her blog This Reading Life, Brona was "fascinated" by this confession…
Again, another fantasy writer whose proliferation causes us to overlook sheer artistry.
This is a stellar story, ahead of its time, the good/evil paradigm framed in genetic experimentation. The lead character, a dog—and anyone who follows Koontz knows his affinity for golden retrievers—is a whole being and a gentle soul. Even anti-fantasy snobs would love this book. It’s a great contemporary fairy tale and a harbinger.
As a footnote to this, most of the songs on my playlists are also forty-plus years old. Why tinker with success?
The No.1 bestselling classic from Dean Koontz, the master of chilling suspense, that will thrill fans of Stephen King and the Odd Thomas series.
They escape from a secret government project: two mutant creatures, both changed utterly from the animals they once were. And no one who encounters them will ever be the same again.
A lonely widower, a ruthless assassin, a beautiful woman, a government agent.
Drawn together in a deadly hunt, all four are inexorably propelled towards a confrontation with an evil beyond human imagining.
Ever have one of those days? You’re cruising, maybe even a little depressed, stressing about your future. Suddenly, you’re whammied—and in an over-the-top, supernatural way. Yeah, now you’re dealing with some serious caca. Nothing you ever expected. Over-the-top, Rod Serling kind of voodoo.
Welcome to my world and—ahem—my story collection The Festival of Sin. There’s a three-story arc about a boy from 6000 BCE rescued by an alien species. Next is a mirror haunted by the ghost of a woman from the mid-nineteenth century with historical ramifications. Then, a woman in a coma finds a strange netherworld inhabited solely by other coma patients. Finally, a bonus novel about a man born with an extraordinary power that does not always serve him well. And you thought you were having a bad day...
Joth Proctor is an under-employed, criminal defense lawyer based in Arlington, Virginia, where a mix of southern charm, shady business dealings, and Washington, D.C. intrigue pervade the story. Upon the suspicious death of the wife of a close friend, Proctor enters a tangled web of drug and alcohol abuse, real…
This delightful fable about the Golden Age of Broadway unfolds the warm story of Artie, a young rehearsal pianist, Joe, a visionary director, and Carrie, his crackerjack Girl Friday, as they shepherd a production of a musical version of A Midsummer Night's Dream towards opening night.
