As a professional editor and writer, reading is literally my day job. But even beyond work, there's nothing more I love to do in my free time than to sit down with a thought-provoking novel and dive right in.
And while my top 10 favorite books perpetually change, I thought I'd share my current listbecause the books on it are PHENOMENAL and any passionate reader will love them.
A quick disclaimer: I went to university for Literature, so the books I enjoy tend to be on the more difficult/obscure end of the spectrum. Don't let that scare you away though! It's a sure bet that these books will be looked back on in 100 years as titanic classics.
I won't spoil any major details for you, either, just in case you're interested in reading any of these for yourself!
Let's get to it!
1) Blood Meridian - Cormac McCarthy
This book has been described as one of the most violent and disturbing books ever written. It's also been described as arguably the BEST book by an American writer ever made. You'll have to read for yourself and make up your own mind!
Its story focuses on a group of 19th-century American "scalpers" who travel down to Mexico to literally head-hunt. What could go wrong ...
2) Tonguecat - Peter Verhelst
Now, this is a super obscure one, but it's probably one of the best books you could ever get your hands on. It's written by Dutch poet Peter Verhelst, so the prose of the novel is gorgeously poetic and imagistic; even without the narrative, his words themselves are entrancing.
Its story focuses on the titan Prometheus, who descends from the heavens into a kingdom that has frozen over with ice. And, chapter by chapter, the kingdom proceeds to splinter into chaos.
3) 2666 - Roberto Bolaño
This book is really long and really good. Its five chapters are all loosely connected around a disturbing series of mass murders in a border-town in Mexico.
Bolaño has been gaining popularity in recent years, and for good reason. His narratives are hilarious, dire, and mystifying all at once.
4) 1Q84 - Haruki Murakami
Haruki Murakami is one of the most popular authors in the ENTIRE world right now, and 1Q84 is evidence as to why that's the case. His novels are filled with magical realism, and in 1Q84 readers experience as astonishing shift between two completely different worlds.
Definitely pick this one up!
5) Wise Blood - Flannery O'Connor
O'Connor reminds me of a female Cormac McCarthy, or is it the other way around, is McCarthy like a male O'Connor? Whatever the case, O'Connor is a high priest of the Southern Gothic literary style, and Wise Blood is her most masterful expression of this genre in my opinion.
Its story follows the war veteran Hazel Motes as he returns back to America with a bone to pick with Jesus Christ ... and, unsurprisingly, madness ensues.
6) White Noise - Don DeLillo
DeLillo is one of the great living American novelists, and I think White Noise is his masterpiece. His prose is so idiosyncratic, and his narratives are so imaginative, that you'll never get bored reading his stuff, so why not try his best book?
This one focuses on a New England town devolving into theater-of-the-absurd territory after a strange toxic cloud of pollution spreads throughout the region.
7) The Unnameable - Samuel Beckett
Beckett was the Shakespeare of the 20th century, but instead of building language and creating new words like the Bard, Beckett focused on what language was like stripped down to its barest bones, and the result was always pure genius.
In The Unnameable, there is no physical setting, and you're not even entirely sure WHAT entity is narrating. That's just how good Beckett is that he can pull something so wild off so perfectly.
8) Lord Jim - Joseph Conrad
Lord Jim is the ultimate reminder of what happens when we get too wrapped up in the romantic, albeit unrealistic, ideals of books, movies, and other popular culture. This one right here is just good reading, plain and simple.
9) We - Yevgeny Zamyatin
Before there was George Orwell's 1984 and Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, there was Yevgeny Zamyatin's We. Indeed, We is arguably the birth-piece of the modern Dystopian genre in literature that's so popular these days.
Without We, there would be no 1984. You have to check this one out! It's a quick read, you could churn it out in a day!
10) Mrs. Dalloway - Virginia Woolf
Something about this book just strikes me as being a technical masterpiece. It's kind of like a beautiful gem-stone; it's perfectly cut and beautifully polished.
This is another quick one that you could probably blitz through in a day or two!
What do you think? Have you ever heard of/read any of these books before?
I'd also be remiss if I didn't highlight a few honorable mentions that just barely missed out on being in my top 10:
- The Crossing - Cormac McCarthy
- The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Sound and the Fury - William Faulkner
- The Day of the Locust - Nathaniel West
- Three Lives - Gertrude Stein
How about you guys? What are your favorite books? What're you reading right now? Be sure to sound off in the comments below, and thanks a ton for viewing! Be sure to follow me if you haven't already,
-WMP