Recommending book titles is a double-edged sword.
Some readers will like the recommendations; others will not.
My reading taste might or might not appeal to some readers. Still, reading outside your comfort zone can be a gratifying experience.
Usually, the humdrum of the same old thing starts to feel routine, stale, and monotonous, like any form of activity.
Book reading can be visceral, subjective, and pleasurable—and it is a favorite pastime millions of people enjoy.
I voraciously read anything I can get my hands on. I enjoy mystery, suspense and horror stories. I devour the works of Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Ronald Malfi, Dan Simmons, Josh Malerman, Robert R. McCammon, and others.
This month’s suggestions include writers from across all genres.
I told you what I enjoy reading as a book lover. But as a writer, my literary appetites stem from Ray Bradbury, Jim Grimsley, Karin Fossum, and John Connolly. Bradbury is my main inspiration, alongside Jim Grimsley, who is a master classman in the written word.
I love being transported to other worlds when I read. Bradbury’s work succeeds on all levels. According to the writer himself, Fahrenheit 451 is his most notable work of fiction and only work of science fiction. He is classified as a science fiction writer in the publishing industry because publishers insist on pigeonholing authors in a specific genre.
Bradbury is a fantasy author, at least to me, which is why I strongly recommend his three-book Greentown series. Dandelion Wine, Something Wicked This Way Comes, and Farewell Summer are tearjerkers until the closing page.
Bradbury is a master of words, “For fifty years, I’ve watched the grandfather clock in the hall, William. After it is wound, I can predict the hour when it will stop. Old people are no different. They can feel the machinery slow down and the last weights shift.”
Death is a realization all of us will have to face, sooner or later. Bradbury captures the reality of life and the ins and outs of this crazy journey through simple, straightforward sentences. There is no fancy narrative or big words, just the beauty of feeling and living while sitting and writing in front of his typewriter.
Two of my favorite authors, Robin Peguero and Harry Dolan, have released and published new work in the last few months.
Criminal and political thrillers are among my favorite page-turning favorites.
Peguero’s recent top-notch thriller, “One in the Chamber,” centers on a group of hasty politicians doing dastardly deeds in the name of power. Known as “The Gang of Six,” each of the affluent junior U.S. senators share one infallible trait—they all hate their bosses.
Peguero is a first-rate plotter, a magician with words, as he ratchets the tension and suspense in this unique political thriller set against the cutthroat world of politics. A tour de force and an authentic new voice, Peguerio’s latest novel is a poetic tale ripped from the headlines and all too real.
Whether or not you’re familiar with Harry Dolan is beside the point. If you’re a thriller junkie like me, you will engulf his latest hard-to-put-down thriller, “Don’t Turn Around.”
Like his past five standalone novels, Dolan’s newest book will scare you and keep you reading until the early hours. Dolan writes with crisp prose and twisty plotlines, “Devin adjusts his grip on the handle of the knife and glides it across his skin like a bow on the strings of a violin.”
A killer known as Mercury stalks random victims, leaving no trace of evidence behind, and the law scratching their heads. A solid story with hidden secrets, “Don’t Turn Around” is a five-star mystery that will keep you guessing.
Alice Blanchard’s Burning Lake series, starring Natalie Lockhart, is a mystery series I wait for with bated breath. In Blanchard’s latest thriller, “The Shadow Girls,” Natalie must confront a killer who targets Natalie’s sister and boyfriend, who are the latest victims in this twisted new battle between good and evil.
Set at Halloween, the novel adds a spooky atmosphere of storytelling.
Book reading builds strong minds. Choose the titles from my recommended book pile or your own.
Happy spring reading!
Thomas Grant Bruso is a Plattsburgh resident who writes fiction and has been an avid reader of genre fiction since he was a kid. Readers and writers are invited to connect and discuss books and writing at www.facebook.com/thomasgrantbruso