by Jay Wilburn
One of my favorite things is giving book recommendations. It helps the readers, it helps the authors, and maybe makes the world a better place. Looking over the last month, I did a non-scientific survey of all the books I shared on Twitter, Reddit, Facebook, 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.
If you are looking for a particular type of book, contact me directly and let me know what you are looking for.
If you wish to contact me regarding checking out something you’ve written or want me to look at an advanced copy for review, feel free to touch base with me. If we are not already connected online, use the contact form on this website.
Note: The list is only nine books this time because one of the authors I recommended over the past month was outed for harassing women online. The behavior continued after his apology, so I decided to remove his book from the list.
9
The Year of Lear: Shakespeare in 1606 by James Shapiro
2020 feels like a crazy year where everything seems to be happening one incident right after another faster than we can process. 1606 was another year like that. This book does a great job of weaving the narratives of several big historic events that occurred in proximity to each other. This is a detailed and interesting history of a significant year many people don’t know about.
8
Watership Down by Richard Adams
This book is a classic. It is a lot of people’s favorite book of all time. I’ve recommended it to a number of readers looking for a classic to read. It’s a good story for audio book listeners/readers, too. There are a lot of good audio versions. This one I recall liking.
7
Above the Sky by J.W. Lynne/ Jenny Lynne
This is the first book in the Sky Series by Lynne. It is geared toward teen readers. It follows in the tradition of dystopian coming-of-age and battling the system books. That’s not for everyone. I read several books in this style as I was preparing to write my own young adult books. Of those explored, this series stood out in that it included all the elements of rebellion, romance, and such that these readers are seeking, but this story used subtle touches to elevate what the audience expected. For readers seeking the best in this genre, this series makes a pretty good go at that title.
6
A Woman of No Importance by Sonia Purnell
A Woman of No Importance : The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II is really well-written nonfiction. You learn about an interesting and heroic figure who is not as well known even among many people interesting in reading about World War II history. This is good recommendation for people looking for a great historic biography or war history.
5
Paradise Sky by Joe R Lansdale
It would be difficult to overstate how great this novel is. Joe Lansdale is his own genre. This book is perfect for anyone who loves this author for his horror or crime related fiction and is looking something more. It is good for people looking for a great western. It’s a vengeance story on one level, but it is far greater than that single description and plot point.
4
A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay
Many people reading this probably already know how good this book is. This book is a possession story that allows room for doubt and interpretation at every turn. It is so well written. I think this novel is making a case for itself to be one of the greatest horror novels of all time. It’s a sure recommendation for readers looking for a great horror novel that is much bigger than simple scares.
3
We Walked the Sky by Lisa Fiedler
This is a multigenerational story of female circus performers. It is literary and heartfelt. In discussions online, a few readers were bothered by the “attitude” of the granddaughter in the story. I thought her portrayal was very good because it allowed room for a solid and realistic character arc. This story achieves a lot and I’ve recommended it to a lot of people.
2
11/22/63 by Stephen King
A number of people considering reading Stephen King for the first time have asked where to start. Many of them are not usually horror readers. There are fifty plus answers of where to start first with reading Stephen King. For these reluctant first readers and anyone else seeking King’s best work, I think the answer is 11/22/63. I think if you insisted on pinning me down to a definitive answer, I would have to say this is his best novel. It is a great time travel novel aside from being a great Stephen King novel.
1
Girl Like a Bomb by Autumn Christian
It’s difficult to describe how special this novel is. It involves special powers, sex, identity as a woman, and deeper levels of story around the ideas of transformation, growth, sacrifice, self-worth and more. It is an explosive story that achieves something more than any other novel I’ve read recently, something unique. I’ve recommended it to readers looking for something to break them out of a rut in their reading and their mood.
Jay's Patreon Page | Purchase Signed Books