Books like Sudden Fiction — picked by fans

After writing two expansive novels—The Edge of the World, about lives spanning six decades, and Liberty Landing, a contemporary novel rooted in the arc of American history—I found myself drawn to something smaller. Not smaller in meaning or scope, but in form. I wanted to experiment with the art of compression in storytelling. I was inspired by a microfiction written by novelist Joyce Carol Oates—The Widow’s First Year, which reads: “I kept myself alive.” Eight words. A complete universe of sorrow, endurance, resilience, and time. It stunned me. As I began to write Small Worlds, I was compelled to study fast fiction with the sharpest forensic tools.

After writing two expansive novels—The Edge of the World, about lives spanning six decades, and Liberty Landing, a contemporary novel rooted in the arc of American history—I found myself drawn to something smaller. Not smaller in meaning or scope, but in form. I wanted to experiment with the art of compression in storytelling. I was inspired by a microfiction written by novelist Joyce Carol Oates—The Widow’s First Year, which reads: “I kept myself alive.” Eight words. A complete universe of sorrow, endurance, resilience, and time. It stunned me. As I began to write Small Worlds, I was compelled to study fast fiction with the sharpest forensic tools.

After writing two expansive novels—The Edge of the World, about lives spanning six decades, and Liberty Landing, a contemporary novel rooted in the arc of American history—I found myself drawn to something smaller. Not smaller in meaning or scope, but in form. I wanted to experiment with the art of compression in storytelling. I was inspired by a microfiction written by novelist Joyce Carol Oates—The Widow’s First Year, which reads: “I kept myself alive.” Eight words. A complete universe of sorrow, endurance, resilience, and time. It stunned me. As I began to write Small Worlds, I was compelled to study fast fiction with the sharpest forensic tools.

After writing two expansive novels—The Edge of the World, about lives spanning six decades, and Liberty Landing, a contemporary novel rooted in the arc of American history—I found myself drawn to something smaller. Not smaller in meaning or scope, but in form. I wanted to experiment with the art of compression in storytelling. I was inspired by a microfiction written by novelist Joyce Carol Oates—The Widow’s First Year, which reads: “I kept myself alive.” Eight words. A complete universe of sorrow, endurance, resilience, and time. It stunned me. As I began to write Small Worlds, I was compelled to study fast fiction with the sharpest forensic tools.

Early in my career I landed a job as a magazine editor. Shazam! I could publish my own articles! But I discovered that I actually had no idea how to write anything interesting, English major though I’d been. So I began to figure out what makes writing work. Over decades as a journalist, corporate communicator, and consultant, I did learn. I also saw colleagues miss their best opportunities, even screw up their lives, by writing badly—unpersuasively. And a mission was born: to share the tools and techniques of powerful communication. I’ve created dozens of workshops for businesspeople and professionals, taught graduate students, and now happily author books jammed with practical advice. 

Early in my career I landed a job as a magazine editor. Shazam! I could publish my own articles! But I discovered that I actually had no idea how to write anything interesting, English major though I’d been. So I began to figure out what makes writing work. Over decades as a journalist, corporate communicator, and consultant, I did learn. I also saw colleagues miss their best opportunities, even screw up their lives, by writing badly—unpersuasively. And a mission was born: to share the tools and techniques of powerful communication. I’ve created dozens of workshops for businesspeople and professionals, taught graduate students, and now happily author books jammed with practical advice. 

One of my fondest childhood memories is the holiday parties that my parents threw. Lying in bed I could hear roars of laughter crash the silence and gently ebb as the grownups shared stories and made merry. Later in life, I came to realize how different that kind of drinking is from the frat-boy binging of college and the anxious bracers at singles’ bars. As an adult, I became a Catholic theologian, got married, and had a family of my own. My wife Alexandra and I have relished an evening cocktail together in order to unwind and catch up on each other’s day (Alexandra has homeschooled all six of our children, which is itself a compelling reason to drink daily).

Social history has always been my passion: unless you know how people thought, felt and lived, even down to how they dressed and ate, it is often impossible to understand why they acted as they did. And no period is as fascinating to me as the inter-war years; after WW1, the greatest conflict the world had ever seen, the upcoming generations determined to break barriers, discard the last vestiges of what they saw as hidebound custom, to invent new, freer ways of writing, painting, dancing - and to have fun. And for most of this post-war generation, there was nowhere like Paris.

Certain books have the ability to inspire you or help you go beyond the boundaries of your understanding, to teach you something new or to show you how to look at things differently, to alter and enhance your perception. Each of these texts have encouraged and enchanted me, with hard-won truths. I appreciate the style of writing which draws you further and further into the author's psyche, and thus into your own, like deep diving into uncharted depths. Also, as someone who tries to write poetry and prose, I find each of these writers have a refreshing and interesting technique and method of communicating their thoughts and ideas.

Peter Guralnick has been called "a national resource" by critic Nat Hentoff for work that has argued passionately and persuasively for the vitality of this country’s intertwined black and white musical traditions. His books include the prize-winning two-volume biography of Elvis Presley, Last Train to Memphis and Careless Love; Searching for Robert Johnson; Sweet Soul Music; and Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke. His 2015 biography, Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock ‘n’ Roll, was a finalist for the Plutarch Award for Best Biography of the Year, awarded by the Biographers International Organization. His most recent book is Looking to Get Lost: Adventures in Music and Writing.