2020 Reading List
This reading list is based on the 52 book challenge, in which the goal is to read a book per week. With that said, we want to encourage people to read more, regardless of their availability, reading speed, or lifestyle. If you commit to reading a book a month, or a book every two weeks, that's fantastic. Every year, Josh Mauthe and Dietrich Stogner will select a list of 75 books (52 books plus alternates). These are books that we both agree are some of the absolute best, not just in their genres, but in the entire bookstore.
We're selecting one book from each author, and we're going to work to get a wide range of styles and genres. If you have suggestions, we'd love to hear them, and we'll consider including them in next year's reading list. Also, and I can't stress this enough, READ OUTSIDE OF YOUR USUAL. If you're a big fantasy reader, spend some time with the noir novels. If you only read "literary" books, stop, and read some of the best genre has to offer. The entire goal is discovering something new.
P.S. We're posting this in October of 2019 because we just launched this podcast, and there's not enough time in the year to do a 2019 list. If you want to add on some books and roll it into next year, that's great. If you want to get a jump on 2020, that's great too.
We're selecting one book from each author, and we're going to work to get a wide range of styles and genres. If you have suggestions, we'd love to hear them, and we'll consider including them in next year's reading list. Also, and I can't stress this enough, READ OUTSIDE OF YOUR USUAL. If you're a big fantasy reader, spend some time with the noir novels. If you only read "literary" books, stop, and read some of the best genre has to offer. The entire goal is discovering something new.
P.S. We're posting this in October of 2019 because we just launched this podcast, and there's not enough time in the year to do a 2019 list. If you want to add on some books and roll it into next year, that's great. If you want to get a jump on 2020, that's great too.
Literary / MiscellaneousMother Night, by Kurt Vonnegut
Cloud Atlas, by David Mitchell Lovecraft Country, by Matt Ruff Reincarnation Blues, by Micheal Poore Lincoln in the Bardo, by George Saunders Julian Comstock: A Story of 22nd Century America, by Robert Charles Wilson The Underground Railroad, by Colson Whitehead The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon Gates of Fire, by Stephen Pressfield The Dog Stars, by Peter Heller Catch-22, by Joseph Heller Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, by Hunter S. Thompson Atonement, by Ian McEwan Boys Life, by Robert R. McCammon A Prayer for Owen Meany, by John Irving The Time Traveler’s Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger |
Science Fiction / FantasyOld Man’s War, by John Scalzi The Lathe of Heaven, by Ursula K. LeGuin Recursion, by Blake Crouch The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman The Universe Builders, by Steve LeBel Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said, by Philip K. Dick Rendezvous with Rama, by Arthur C. Clarke Throne of the Crescent Moon, by Saladin Ahmed The Fifth Season, by N.K. Jemisen The Lies of Locke Lamora, by Scott Lynch The Bear and the Nightingale, by Katherine Arden Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, by Susanna Clarke Hogfather, by Terry Pratchett American Gods, by Neil Gaiman Orconomics, by J Zachary Pike |
Noir / MysteryThe Devil’s Detective, by Simon Kurt Unsworth
LA Confidential, by James Ellroy Yiddish Policemen's Union, by Micheal Chabon Winter’s Bone, by Daniel Woodrell The Silence of the Lambs, by Thomas Harris Gone Baby Gone, by Dennis Lehane Clockers, by Richard Price Child 44, by Tom Rob Smith Pop. 1280, by Jim Thompson Red Harvest, by Dashiell Hammett |
Horror / ThrillerHex, by Thomas Olde Heuvelt
The Croning, by Laird Barron The Changeling, by Victor Lavalle The Troop, by Nick Cutter Books of Blood, by Clive Barker We Have Always Lived In The Castle, by Shirley Jackson Annihilation, by Jaff VanDerMeer Relic, by Douglas Preston and Lee Child A Simple Plan, by Scott Smith The Tomb, by F. Paul Wilson |
Young AdultThe Age Of Miracles, by Karen Thompson Walker
The Fault In Our Stars, by John Greene The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie The Gates, by John Connolly |
Short Fiction CollectionsStories of Your Life (And Others), by Ted Chiang
Machine of Death, edited by Ryan North, David Malki, and Matthew Bernardo At The Mouth of the River of Bees, by Kij Johnson 20th Century Ghosts, by Joe Hill |
NonfictionGeneration Kill, by Evan Wright
A Long Way Gone, by Ismael Beah Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, by Mary Roach Into Thin Air, by Jon Krakauer The Corner: A Year In The Life of an Inner City Neighborhood, by David Simon and Ed Burns On Writing, by Stephen King Black Hawk Down, by Mark Bowden In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote The Innocent Man, by John Grisham |
Graphic NovelsFrom Hell, by Alan Moore
Maus, by Art Spiegelman Boxers and Saints, by Gene Luen Yang |
