My Wishlist of 100 Books (2018 Update)

Now that Thanksgiving is over, it's time to celebrate the start of the Christmas season. For those who are looking to this blog and wondering "Thomas, what can we get you?" It only makes sense that Willett Reads would be dedicated to sharing all things that interest me in literature. Well, if you're one of those kind people who want to send me a book, here is a recommendation list of 100 books ranging from different genres and centuries. I am not too picky on quality of the book, save for my desire that the book not be filled with personal annotations. Beyond that, I hope that this list will help you prepare gifts that I not only want, but can often be found at a reasonable price. Click on to discover the list and where to send any comments regarding this list.

#49. "Savages" by Don Winslow

The prose of Don Winslow's "Savages" is a beast that unfurls like the anarchic characters that inhabit it. The first "chapter," a mere two words of neglect, set up the impression that not only are these characters rude, but they're working on a different level. As the pages unfold, it is discovered that these Southern California residents are a couple of small time drug dealers who get mixed up with the Mexican Drug Cartel. Winslow doesn't so much capture the ensuing conflict that resonates over 2008 and 2009, but finds a way to add intensity by playing with the structure of language, mixing poetry with immature philosophy, entire chapters written like screenplays, and a stream of consciousness approach that shows just how manic everything is. For all of the books' fault of being rooted in a time and place, it does so with such efficiency that it becomes astounding to witness the brief period between when the Bush era ended and the Obama one started. These are one of a kind characters, and Winslow knows how to get them under our skin.

#48. "The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold

In an average story, choosing to start the first chapter with a major death is a gimmick. Even if it's a crime novel, the lack of pathos allowed for a character is an effective way to keep the brutality from stinging as much. It makes it almost clinical to what follows. However, Alice Sebold's debut novel is easily the exception that proves the rule. "The Lovely Bones" is a story about murder and rape, but mostly uses it as an establishing of something deeper. The book posits that there's more to a character's life than one traumatic event, and it paints it through a clever narration of a dead teenage girl. Despite its morbid start, it's surprisingly uplifting; depicting the challenges of grief and revenge through the lens of someone who can't. It's a provocative story that will at times wallop the reader with emotion and most of all present a more honest view of how humanity can better itself.

#47. "Elevation" by Stephen King

Stephen King's latest book "Elevation" is arguably one of the biggest troll moments in the author's entire career. With the book released on All Hallows Eve, it did seem like the master of horror writing was giving us a great story to read after a fun night of trick or treating. Well, don't expect to see Cujo, Carrie White, Jack Torrance, or anything remotely scary (though Pennywise does get a clever shout-out). No, King has admitted that this is a more humane story. It's one indicative of life in 2018, specifically in his iconic hometown of Castle Rock, Maine. While there's a supernatural presence, there's not going to be a jump scare in any of the story's very few pages. What is present is a story so subdued and innocent that it feels almost revolutionary for an author like him. This is a soft story, and one meant to be more of a feel good morality tale about how society comes together to help each other. It does work, provided you can get over how little this resembles the horror classics we know from him.

#46. "Gerald's Game" by Stephen King

There's a lot of easy jokes to be made from describing Stephen King's "Gerald's Game" premise in one sentence. It could be seen as a bedtime story, or even a brutal feminist satire of the erotic novel. It's a lot of concepts that the writer hasn't normally been known for, at least not without mincing words. In this story, he creates what is arguably among the grossest and most uncomfortable stories he's ever written - and it's not because of any supernatural elements. No, it owes a lot of credit to what happens when a little round of S&M goes south and it sends Jessie into an existential crisis that includes a peak into her child molestation. These are all dicey subjects that would require deep nuance to not come across as icky. While King applies them to a quasi-supernatural premise that undoes certain elements of the book, it's effective enough as an exercise but will probably scar those squeamish to certain bodily injuries. It's what King is good at, though sometimes not in a good way.

#45. "The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla" by Stephen King

In a lot of ways, the final three books in "The Dark Tower" series are arguably the most urgent in Stephen King's magnum opus. Following a car accident that almost killed him, the fate of his future seemed unknown, especially when it came to his much beloved series. Would gunslinger Roland and the ka-tet ever get to see The Dark Tower, or is it all one of the biggest unfinished mysteries? Thankfully, King was of the mindset that the story needed to be told, and done before he met his inevitable fate (which as of 2018, has yet to happen thankfully). With "Wolves of the Calla," he returns the readers to Midworld, and specifically a group of people who are doomed to be attacked by wolves. It's another entry in the ribald and weird King that is delightfully desired. However, it may also have some signs that King's urgency comes with some errors. 

#44. "1984" by George Orwell

As a genre, sci-fi has gotten credit for presenting outlandish worlds that often serve as metaphors for our own. Of the millions penned to paper, the one whose had the most lasting of impacts is George Orwell's "1984." What is it about this book of a dystopian society that has kept audiences returning to the book, finding contemporary allusions almost 70 years later? In some ways, it's a bit obvious on the surface: Winston Smith lives in a society where the individual is frowned upon in favor of a "slavery," or uniformed love for Big Brother. While this would be enough to keep the book relevant to any form of dictatorship throughout the world, what makes the book more timeless and influential is what is done within those limitations. This isn't just a world where everyone has to love a higher power. It's also one where the tactics to get there are barbaric propaganda, but also maybe relevant in subliminal ways.

#43. "Dog Man: Lord of the Fleas" by Dav Pilkey

For those who think of Dav Pilkey as a one hit wonder, never underestimate the power of underpants. With his latest in the Captain Underpants spin-off Dog Man, he has released 10 million books including three million just for the fifth installment "Lord of the Fleas." So, why is the series so successful in spite of being full of juvenile humor and silly parodies of pop culture mainstays? Well, it could be that at the center of a story about a hero who's half-dog and half-man (get it?) is an emotional core that is stronger than anything from the man who's created such characters as Professor Poopypants. For as silly as the book is, it continues to show how to create characters that grow with each installment in ways that are subversive and honest, and most of all prove that children's literature can be gross and heartfelt.

#42. "The Stepford Wives" by Ira Levin

By now the term Stepford Wife has been ingrained in the pop culture lexicon for almost half a century. It's hard to recognize a time when it didn't hold some impact, or at least was misconstrued as a satire of suburban life. However, Ira Levin's original short book "The Stepford Wives" came at a time when there as a rise in second wave feminism, where there was a struggle for women to appear strong and independent. It's why the gist of the story's submissive housewife seemed like a scary concept, especially since they all acted and dressed a certain way. The story, clocking in just shy of 130 pages, is a quick read about the dangers of indulgence and male domination that is at times funny and other times horrifying. Altogether, it is a thrilling read that brings the reader directly into the lap of the 70's mentality better than most with prose that is both dated in references, but also provocative because of those references' subtexts.

#41. "The Girl in the Spider's Web" by David Lagercratz

In the ream of literature, there was no story as perplexing as that of Stieg Larsson, who died prior to the release of the juggernaut bestseller "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo." It was a crime thriller that rocked the world of literature with a protagonist who was exciting and new. Lisbeth Salander wasn't so much a hero, but one that the 21st century could adopt as a hacker who sought revenge on the "men who hate women" of the world. The two sequels were also written by Larsson and together spawned four film adaptations. But what does the future hold for the book series that was cut short by an unfortunate event? Well, it took some meddling from the family and the agreement of author David Lagercrantz to write the fourth book in the series "The Girl in the Spider's Web," which continues the series in the actual meaning of the word, though it does little to capture what made the series so exciting in the first place.

#40. "The Exorcist" by William Peter Blatty

For true horror fans, there's few films as renowned for its scares quite like William Friedkin's The Exorcist. How could it not be, especially as it deals with a fear that goes beyond what can be seen and eats at the very soul of every viewer? It's a demon, Pazuzu, who lives inside the bodies of the innocent, destroying them until they wither and die. If that was all that the story was about, it would be scary, but it wouldn't be accepted as one of the scariest works in 20th century fiction. No, what makes the story far more fascinating is something that can be found more often and effectively in the text, where censorship seems to be misbegotten in favor of the most brutal, intense descriptions imaginable to reasonable man. William Peter Blatty's book may have the blueprint for what the film became, but it's such a gross, ugly vision that no reasonable filmmaker would put any actor through it. And yet, that is what makes Blatty's novel so vital and in some ways superior to the film adaptation.

#39. "The Friedkin Connection" by William Friedkin

If you're a fan of classic cinema, there's a good chance that one of William Friedkin's movies will have crossed your path at some point. Whether it's The French Connection or The Exorcist, he was the master of intense cinema with a documentary-like realism that made his work stand out against his contemporaries like Spielberg, Scorsese, and Coppola. It makes sense then that a filmmaker whose very aesthetic is meant to be intense would take on his own career with a certain honesty and detail that doesn't only debunk the movie magic, but comes to understand what drew Friedkin to film in general. "The Friedkin Connection" is both a love letter to the man who made some of cinema's most exciting films, but also to the hubris that comes with gaining success too early in one's career. 

#38. "Palo Alto" by James Franco

Multi-hyphenate artist James Franco is a man who enjoys challenging himself. In his book "Palo Alto," he discusses his attraction to exploring literature. After all, he's an actor who is hired to tell stories, so why not tell his own? The collection is based off of his own childhood, and centers around a group of teens in Palo Alto, CA as they find joy in the aimless moments of high school. There's frank talk about sex, random acts of vandalism, and even some questionable word choices. Franco's book is nothing if not vulgar in all of the ways of reckless abandon. However, there's also a sense that there's not a bigger purpose to any of what he has written, as most of it is simply short stories, told without exciting climaxes (in a sense). It does plenty to get inside the characters' heads, but the bigger issue is that cumulatively it doesn't add up to much of a satisfying read. It has some things that work, but not enough to establish Franco's stance as a writing virtuoso.

#37. "Infinite Jest" by David Foster Wallace

There have been better and there have been worse books, but has there been any with the reputation as that of David Foster Wallace's crowning achievement "Infinite Jest"? Over the course of roughly 1100 pages (150 of which are detailed end notes), Wallace sets out to explore the meaning of life in America through a variety of moments regarding the addiction of drugs, tennis, entertainment, politics, and everything else that constituted life at the turn of the 20th century. To call it essential reading is easy. To actually pick up the book and try to understand its many pages without a dictionary, web assistance, or other forms of cheating is a fool's errand. By making a book whose language is so dense, Wallace has reinvented the very idea of writing by failing to be postmodern and instead invoking the earnest movement's desire for honesty over sarcasm. The book is an achievement, that's for sure. However, it's also one that may at times be unsatisfying.

#36. "The Stranger" by Albert Camus

In Albert Camus' "The Stranger," who is the actual stranger? The easy answer is that it's the protagonist, but what does that mean given that he's our entry point into this world? Well, it creates the perfect sense of disillusion, making one wonder the significance of life when the protagonist seems to lack a desire of it. He creates an apathetic tone around everything, starting with the death of his mother in the opening sentence. It's jarring, but it's even more odd how little he wallows over the situation. What does "The Stranger" really have to say about her death, or anyone's death for that matter? It's a book that may be short in length, but that only means that its questions and ideals are bigger and expand far beyond the bounded print of the book. 

#35. "Thanos: The Infinity Revelation" by Jim Starlin

In the realm of Marvel Comics, there's nobody who's stronger than Thanos. He's a towering force over the entire galaxy in ways that cannot be matched. While "The Infinity Gauntlet" taught us what his motivations and personal struggles were, "The Infinity Revelation" tries to expand Thanos' story by creating one of the craziest hypothetical in history. What if he and longtime sidekick Adam Warlock had clones, whose damage to the universe was just as incredulous? What if there wasn't? To say the least, it was another ride into the exploration of one man's power, and how it can go horribly wrong. With Jim Starlin once again writing, it at least has enough cohesion behind it to be interesting, but it's a far cry from its more iconic predecessor.

#34. "Silence" by Shusaku Endo

Outside of the bible, it's hard to find literature that embodies the "Test of faith" story with a precision and effectiveness. It always gets muddied in challenges that are either played too much towards the supernatural, or reliant on convenient tropes. For Shusaku Endo's "Silence," he manages to break free of the trend not by making a test of faith that sees the hero in a position of power, but one of thankless struggle - constantly citing the bible as their journey falls further and further into chaos. It's a book where sidetracking with prayers feels important to the text. How could these characters survive such turmoil? For this reason and many more, it's a story that treats faith as a real world thing, embracing it for the devout without making it isolating to the outsiders, wondering what they see in Christianity. It's the perfect example of faith, and it's easy to see why this book has withstood the test of time better than most books that get by on literal wings and prayers.

#33. "Ready Player One" by Ernest Cline (Audiobook)

At the time of its release, Ernest Cline's "Ready Player One" was hailed as the holy grail of nerd culture. How could it not be in a literal sense? It was about a virtual reality where 80's pop culture ran rampant and was centered to everything in the plot. They even got Wil Wheaton to read the audiobook, that's how rooted in a culture it was. But the question must be: is it more than generic pandering to a demographic that would love to be rewarded for knowing the obscure characters to Ultraman? Well, this is exactly that story in a way that's a bit disappointing. What starts as a story that has the potential to explore the infinite sadness of pop culture ends up embracing it in a way that's just as pandering as an 80's movie, but without half as much investment. 

#32. "The Infinity Gauntlet" by Jim Starlin

Following the exploits of "Thanos' Quest," Jim Starlin decided to take on a concept that is very tempting: what if one person had control over the entire universe? It's tempting, but even harder to pull off for a comic book corporation who has hundreds of heroes that are on pages read weekly, monthly, and annually. How could you possibly kill them all off and still have some merit of continuing the beloved format? Well, "The Infinity Gauntlet" became one of the biggest events in comic book history when the all powerful Thanos decided to take over the world with just a snap of his finger. What's more incredible is that in spite of this, there's something haunting and sympathetic underneath that is more human and vulnerable than one could expect. It is a goofy, overlong story for sure, but it's also one that understands the struggle of wielding power in all its forms. 

#31. "The Thanos Quest" by Jim Starlin

With The Avengers: Infinity War topping the box office, it seems like a good time to revisit what likely inspired the mighty Thanos to take over the world. While there is often more attention paid to "The Infinity Gauntlet" series, "The Thanos Quest" serves as an establishment for what the iconic series will explore. It's the story of one man who goes on a search to find The Infinity Gems. It isn't just a quest to have power, but to have a reason and a purpose. It's a story that's compelling both as an intergalactic journey but also as a look into a powerful character's psyche and the vulnerability that comes with being too much of an intimidating force for many to handle. 

#30. "The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass" by Stephen King

Stephen King has made a world in "The Dark Tower" franchise where it seems like anything can happen. It's a fantasy-western story that crosses all times and references in a way that's dizzying and time consuming. It's the biggest appeal to the stories, which ended its third entry on a very odd cliffhanger. Roland and the gang was riding Blane the Mono towards the titular tower, but needed to come up with a riddle to escape its ride into the abyss. That's where "Wizard and Glass," the fourth book, begins. By the end, the story doesn't venture more than a few days later, but covers a grander story that's unlike most of what came before. It's a story about Roland's past, featuring a ka-tet that helped to shape the lone ranger that is at the center of this saga. In some ways, it's a detour that helps to shape character, but it also detours from the appealing central cast that has shaped the last two books' energy. It's a bit of a lag, but it's still pretty good.

#29. "The Odyssey" by Homer

In the realm of mythology, there are few stories that capture the excitement as that of Homer's sequel to "The Iliad," which is the more popular "The Odyssey." How could it not be considered at least more exciting, especially given that it features some of Greek mythology's most iconic archetypes, such as the sirens, the cyclopes, and several iconic Gods creating mischief for Odysseus' simple trip back home. For a story that's over a millennia old, it manages to convey a lot of the familiar beats that influenced modern literature. It's the hero's journey, and done so through 24 books that manage to show that one journey home from battle can be more interesting than a simple journey across the sea. 

#28. "Dog Man and Cat Kid" by Dav Pilkey

It's safe to say that after four installments, "Dog Man" is easily the most successful "Captain Underpants" spin-off to date. But what about a creature with a dog's head and a man's body is so attractive to literature? It could be that it's a satirical take on police procedural and superhero tropes alike, but it could just be that Dav Pilkey lucked out in creating one of his strongest universes, even if it exists within the mind of his beloved George and Harold. Sure, the animation is crude and sometimes the jokes are more blunt than thought out, but it's a world of childlike wonder the likes of which Pilkey hasn't obtained since the days of Professor Poopypants. Here, he finds a story that not only satirizes the moral struggle of heroes, but Hollywood in general. The boys have gotten older, and now their love of movies is beginning to impact their work.

#27. "Dog Man: A Tale of Two Kitties" by Dav Pilkey

Author Dav Pilkey had an impressive 2017 with the movie adaptation of his beloved Captain Underpants, which was met with plenty of acclaim. However, his recent output with spin-off Dog Man has been even more interesting, especially as it's a view from Pilkey but of his enfant terribles George and Harold, who have graduated to the fifth grade and now have a deeper and more mature stance on comic book culture. So, how do they apply that to their own creation? Well, "Dog Man: A Tale of Two Kitties" is a book that manages to mix in juvenile humor with a growing emotional subtext and a series of pop culture references that are fun and irreverent. The mythology of this series is unexpectedly rich, and with this book Pilkey and the boys may have outdone himself.

#26. "Different Seasons" by Stephen King

The one issue that could be lobbied against Stephen King is that some of his stories tend to be a little too long. For instance, his most iconic books ("IT," "The Stand," etc.) fall somewhere in the quadruple digits and may have some excisable material. It's generally why his short stories collections are usually a breath of fresh air, and few have achieved that quite like "Different Seasons." Even if they're not his shortest short stories, they feature arguably two of his most iconic works ("Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption" and "The Body") as well as two perverse secondary works ("Apt Pupil" and "The Breathing Method"). While one could argue that his other anthologies collect more great short stories, there's definitely not one that is as effective and succinct in capturing the genius behind the author quite like this one, which explores empathy and horror in equal measure, adding new wrinkles to the King of Horror's overall reputation.

#25. "The Disaster Artist" by Greg Sestero and Tom Bissell

The idea of a movie being "so bad it's good" is a concept that's been around almost since the dawn of the format. It's the concept that a film can have a certain level of incompetence, yet still maintain a charm usually saved for the scholarly movies where every detail has been pondered over. In the short existence of the 21st century, director Tommy Wiseau's The Room has been hailed as "the greatest worst movie ever made," and for good reason. However, it's not just a bad movie. It's a work of art, and writers Greg Sestero and Tom Bissell create a surreal vision of Wiseau's inability to be a master filmmaker, jumping between sympathy and animosity almost every other paragraph. It's a humorous read, but what makes it an effective piece to The Room's cult-like mythology is that even when acknowledging the problems, Sestero still loves Wiseau and "The Disaster Artist" is a story of an unlikely friendship.