I read 26 Books in 13 weeks (Part 1 - Fiction)
And here are 10 of them
Hi Friends,
I read a lot. People often DM me about what i’m reading, so I thought i’d make this list. I hope you enjoy.
I opted to break up the books list into two posts, fiction and non-fiction. This post with 10 books is the fiction list. Bear in mind that these are all short books, totalling at about 990 pages, with the longest book clocking in at just under 300 pages. (30% of the total page count). These range from philosophy and fantasy to crime, romance, and thriller.
These books are also very affordable ranging between £0 - £5.99 on Kindle and max ~£7.99 in paperback (as of writing this article).
What you read when you don’t have to shapes how you act when you can’t help it.
- Oscar Wilde
Really interesting book, this one. At its core, the book is a collection of short sci-fi & religious stories. Ted takes a bunch of interesting concepts and explores them in a wide range of ways. One of these short stories ended up becoming a film called Arrival. Funnily enough, the film is based on my least favourite story.
Purchase Story of Your Life and Others on Amazon
A really gripping, realistic, and gut punching revenge story. This is a short story about heroes, what it means to be a hero, and what happens when you chose the wrong hero. It talks about war in a really grounded way.
Strange indeed. The Stranger is about a guy who was persecuted because he was very different, and debatably a little mad. I picked The Stranger as a gateway into Albert Camus, the famed french philosopher who famously once said that the most important philosophical problem is whether or not you should Kermit Sewerslide. 🐸
Purchase The Stranger on Amazon
As thick as you are with the devil, can you be frightened by a flame?
- Mephistopheles to Faust
The definitive “be careful what you wish for” story. Faust is great. There are so many lines which you could highlight in this book. The core idea is that shortcuts come at a cost. God makes a bet with a devil that he can’t corrupt Faust, and the devil accepts.
P.S The quote above makes me think of the sunken cost fallacy.
Purchase Faust, Part 1 on Amazon
A very good book. This book is about the death and preceding life of a man called Ivan. It’s a book that inspired a near and dear short story of my own (more on that another time) and a good introduction to Leo Tolstoy.
Purchase The Death of Ivan Ilych on Amazon
"For a long while a man may hear the droning of little insects and yet not be aware that he hath heard them, so may the gods not hear our prayers at first until they have been very oft repeated.
But when our praying has troubled the silence long it may be that some god as he strolls in Pegana's glades may come on one of our lost prayers, that flutters like a butterfly tossed in storm when all its wings are broken; then if the gods be merciful they may ease our fears in Sidith, or else they may crush us, being petulant gods…"
Your favorite writer’s favorite writer. Dunsany is a giant who inspired Tolkien, H.P Lovecraft, Arthur C. Clarke, Neil Gaiman, and more. Gods of Pegana is a story about how the gods of a fictional realm, called Pegana, came to be and seems to takes inspiration from a wide number of religions.
Purchase The Gods of Pegana on Amazon
Honestly, well done Mr Gaines. This book deserves all the praise that it gets.
It’s about a black Parish teacher, in segregation America, who is asked to teach a young black boy on death row how to be a “man”. I’d recommend.
Purchase A lesson Before Dying on Amazon
Some years ago, I learned that the best way to express that you don’t like someone, or something, is to say that you simply cannot enjoy it.
Well, as hard as i tried, I could not enjoy this book. But maybe you will.
Sex, Murder, and Dodgy Cats. It’s about a troublesome guy who finds himself working for a married couple and then falls, violently, in love with the wife.
Purchase The Postman Always Rings Twice on Amazon
The Quintessential, “hunter becomes the hunted” story. The cover is crazy, but the book is a classic. It’s short, exciting and compelling. A fun one to re-read.
Purchase The Most Dangerous Game on Amazon
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Thank you for reading,
Keep going,