by Jay Wilburn
My favorite thing on Twitter is recommending books to people who are asking for recommendations. It helps the readers, it helps the authors, and dare I say it makes everyone involved happier. Looking over the last month, I did a non-scientific survey of all the books I shared on Twitter, in private messages, through e-mail, by text, in person, and everywhere else. From that, I organized the ten books I recommended the most regardless of genre.
This is not to say other books weren’t as good or that these authors don’t have more books just as good or better than these. As I tried to match readers’ interests to a recommendation, these are the books that came up the most often in the past month. A different set of readers will probably create different recommendations in the coming month.
These books appealed to a number of readers for different reasons and as such, I think you might like them, too.
10
Debut novel by JC Walsh. This novel shows his skill and his love for horror and cosmic horror in particular. It’s got a pace readers seem to respond to and a story that hooks fans of horror and action. The people I’ve recommended it to have enjoyed it. It speaks to great potential for this new author going forward.
9
The Configuration Discordant: An exploration of poetry through the lens of murder, madness, and monsters by John Baltisberger
This is a horror poetry collection. A number of the poems connect together to tell an extended story. They are divided into sections by style. Each poem works to accomplish what many authors often require a short story or even a full novel to communicate. This will be a unique read for horror or poetry fans. It is a good work to use to change up your reading.
8
School’s Out by Brian Keene
This is an author who should not need an introduction, but if you don’t know him, meet Brian Keene. I’ve also recommended The Rising, King of the Bastards, and Pressure by this author this month. This novel is an apocalyptic story for younger readers. An eight-year-old boy is left to survive alone. The parents are gone, but their presence and how the boy uses what he learned from them to survive keeps them in the story in a powerful way. It is a good read for adults, too. This may be one of his most underrated works that readers need to check out.
7
Sisters of the Wild Sage by Nichole Givens Kurtz
Several great stories in this book about women of color placed in weird western stories. This author is great at creating characters and carrying them through these strange lands in the subgenre of the Weird West. She also has a sci fi mystery series that is really good, too.
6
Gods of the Dark Web by Lucas Mangum
This is some deep horror written with a masterful hand. People looking for something dark and twisted have liked this book. I’ve also recommended Saint Sadist, the short story collection Engines of Ruin, and Cruel Summer by this same author.
5
Nightly Disease by Max Booth III
This is probably my favorite novel of all time. I recommend it to people looking for something transgressive or a story that pushes back. A night auditor at a hotel tries to keep things together as the world goes to hell inside and outside the hotel. It is masterfully well-written. I’ve also recommended Carnivorous Lunar Activities by this author.
4
What We Reckon by Eryk Pruitt
A crime fiction master at his best. He writes about bad characters doing bad things in the best ways. Very southern, very transgressive, and very well-written. He has a smooth story-telling style that covers the most unsmooth of things. I’ve also recommended Hashtag and Dirtbags by this same author.
3
Jedi Summer by John Boden
This is not a new book, but it is a great one that I’ve recommended to a number of readers this past month. It is the best sort of coming of age story. Readers are transported into the summer and the place described. You find yourself shoulder to shoulder with the characters through all their adventures. More people need to know about this book.
2
Good Boy by Thomas R Clark
I’ve been waiting on this one to get released wide for a while. Dogs surviving a zombie apocalypse. It reminds me of the tone of Watership Down. Really well-written animal protagonists. Great action. It’s a quick and wonderful read. I look forward to seeing more from this author.
1
Until the Sun by Chandler Morrison
This may be the deepest vampire story I’ve ever read. We follow a character trying to find himself and escape everything into the depths of a horror world populated by vampires. The topics covered in this book are the big questions in life done in a way that does not compromise the action or the story, but adds so much to the character’s journey. I recommended this book the most this past month without reservation.
Check out any one of these books and add them to your To-Be-Read pile beside your bed or wherever you stack up books to be consumed. Enjoy!
If you read all that and you want something more, check out The Hidden Truth by Armand Rosamilia and Jay Wilburn.
Disclaimer: I co-wrote this book and it is awesome.
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