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.
10
Scavenger by Christopher Chambers
I read an advance copy of Scavenger: A Mystery and it took me a minute to decide how I felt about it. I was reading a lot more crime fiction and was finding great books alongside books that fell into the same paint-by-the-numbers template of crime/mystery/thriller mainstream appeal. Scavenger was far from the template in so many ways. It was gritty, raw, and laid bare the dirty consequences of political decisions on the lowest rungs of the population. The character comes from darkness to fight through darkness to defeat more powerful darkness. I revisited it after my first reading to really appreciate the nuisance in these tough details that made the story something unique. I’ve grown tired of books that play it safe and stick with the pattern. Chambers gives a great thriller-mystery story and dares to embrace different ways of telling it. That’s why I’ve recommended this book to so many readers since it came out this month.
9
Dark Water Cove by Dan Padavona
Some of my favorite crime fiction has come from authors who crossed over from writing horror stories. It may say something about my preferences in reading. With Dark Water Cove, Padavona is playing to all his strengths in his storytelling. This serial killer story will appeal to readers from many different genre. Lots of readers have discovered this book long before I clued into it and started recommending it. After finishing this book, I’m planning to read the others in this series.
8
The Warehouse by Rob Hart
This timely novel imagines an individual getting his dream job with a super-powerful and ubiquitous tech company with its fingers in every part of our society. Maybe just a step or two past where we find ourselves now. The character must navigate an undefeatable Big Brother force that must be defeated. This concept was played out in an exciting and gripping fashion all the way through this story.
7
The Woman in the Moonlight by Patricia Morrisroe
This book is literary historic fiction. Beethoven is a character in this story. It works with emotion more than action, but has powerful prose that worked for me as a reader who doesn’t usually gravitate toward the literary. It’s a masterful work for readers looking for something with depth and emotional resonance.
6
Malorie by Josh Malerman
Malorie: A Bird Box Novel does not need my help to find readers, but I’ve recommended it widely because it shows the greatness of Malerman’s work that made this universe so popular in the first place. This is the follow-up to the juggernaut story Bird Box, the adaptation of which took Netflix by storm. It’s always said but deserves repeating in this case: the book has so much more to it than the film. Malorie demonstrates there is even more story to explore than what we got in the amazing first book. Read both, if you haven’t already.
5
Walk the Darkness Down by John Boden
Joe Lansdale is famous for saying his genre of writing is Joe Lansdale. Lansdale is right. Lots of authors try to say that about their own work and they are woefully wrong about that claim to uniqueness. John Boden has never said that about himself to my knowledge, but I’m saying it about him as a reader. When I pick up one of his books, as I’ve done many times, I’m transported to places only he can take me. His voice is familiar and completely his, but every new story is a strange new land. This book is a journey through a monstrous land that is unnervingly familiar. I’ve also recommended Jedi Summer, Rattlesnake Kisses, and Cattywampus from this same author.
4
The Raven by Jonathan Janz
Janz never disappoints me as a reader. This work has the perfect combination of fantasy, horror, and apocalyptic storytelling weaved into something truly unique that I can’t quite imagine any other author pulling off as well. A post-apocalyptic rogue travels through a genetically-altered landscape of monsters for his cause. Beautiful work. I’ve also recommended Children of the Dark, The Darkest Game, Exorcist Falls, and more from this same author.
3
The Loop by Jeremy Robert Johnson
I was interviewing Max Booth III for a podcast and asked him if there was a particular book he wanted to promote. He mentioned The Loop. I asked him if he wrote it or if it was with his publishing company. He said neither; it was just a book he liked. Because that is the sort of Kaufmanesque humor you get from Booth.
I read the book though and it is great. A spree of murderous madness strikes a few elite teens and rampages out from there to the rest of the town. It is engrossing and demands your full attention while transporting you into this wild and fast-paced story. This is a stand-out work in genre fiction.
2
Halloween Fiend by C.V. Hunt
If you say you want to read a horror book for Halloween, you better mean it before picking up this one. This book has made my recommendation lists before. It’s good enough to have done it again. There is a darkness in town and under the surface of things the people may not be ready for. You may not be either, but this horror novel delivers the horror the way Hunt always does if you pick up one of her books.
1
Antkind by Charlie Kaufman
This is a deep dive into a hyper-realistic fictional version of Hollywood and the back-back stage craziness. More than that, it is an obsessive search for an unbelievable print of an impossible film that will change everything because it must be changed, all of it. A few reviewers struggled with the tangle of ideas working through the narrative of this book, but I found it to be brilliant. I think more than a few of you will too.
If you read all of that and you’re still looking for more, consider Vampire Christ. Political and religious satire. The world makes more sense if you believe in vampires. Book 2 coming before the end of the year.
Jay's Patreon Page | Purchase Signed Books