This combination of Ray Bradbury and Steven King—with just a dash of H.P. Lovecraft—is a genuinely scary book.
Diversions
Worth Reading: The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
If you like your revenge served ice cold, this is the book for you.
Worth Reading: The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
Arguably the first modern novel, Don Quixote has aged little in four hundred years. Still as funny and moving as when its author created it.
Worth Reading: Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott
Ivanhoe has it all—once you’ve read this tale of knights in shining armor you won’t have to read any other medieval romance.
Worth Reading: Bleak House by Charles Dickens
Don’t be put off by the title—Bleak House contains a full complement of Dickens’ humor as well as social commentary and it introduces Inspector Bucket, the prototypical English detective.
Worth Reading: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas–A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream by Hunter S. Thompson
The preeminent work of gonzo journalism by its preeminent practitioner. Don’t let the drugs fool you—the writing is disciplined and crafted. The pictures are good, too.
Worth Reading: Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
Hacking, swordplay, virtual reality and high-stakes pizza delivery in a franchised future, circa now.
Worth Reading: Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas
D’Artagnan is putting the band back together, but after 20 years it’s a little complicated.
Worth Reading: Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury
A bittersweet evocation of childhood discovery and loss by master creator-of-worlds Ray Bradbury.
Worth Reading: Beowulf
The grandfather of all sword-and-sorcery fantasy. If you like monsters, dragons, magic and swordplay—uninterrupted by mush and romance—this book is for you.